
Class 1 2> c ]_± 

\ \ £- r 

Book, 

Copyright^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



f|E o ° o ° o " o 



o o o o ° o ° o ° 




A Complete and Comprehensive Description 



AGRICULTURAL AND STOCK RAISING 

RESOURCES 



TEXAS PANHANDLE COUNTRY 



Statistics in Regard to its Climate Etc. 



Compiled fro^i the Latest Reports. 



Presented with the Compliments of the 

Passenger Department, 



-tSor, 




T II E 



RESOURCES AND ATTRACTIONS 



The Texas Panhandle 



FOR THE 



Home Seeker, Capitalist and Tourist 



FACTS ON CLIMATE, SOIL, FARMING, STOCK RAISING, DAIRYING, 
FRUIT GROWING, GAME AND FISH. 






^shingto 

WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OP THE 



PASSENGER DEPARTMENT 




BATTLE CREEK, MICH. 

WM. C, GAGE & SON, PRINTERS. 
1890. 



A COMPLETE AND COMPREHENSIVE DESCRIPTION OF THE RE 

SOURCES OF THE TEXAS PANHANDLE; ALSO STATISTICS 

IN REGARD TO ITS CLIMATE, ETC., COMPILED 

FROM THE LATEST REPORTS OF 1889. 



OMAHA, MAY, 1890. 



Copyright, 1890, by E. L. LOMAX, General Passenger Agent, 
Union Pacific System, Omaha, Neb. 



CONTENTS. 



General View op The Texas Panhandle 7-8 

Outline of Surrounding Country 8-10 

Climate 10 

Table Showing the Monthly and Annual Mean Temperature (in 

Degrees Fahr.) at Various Texas Stations 11 

Rivers and Water-Courses 12-13 

Timber Growth 13 

The Soil 14 

Remarks Upon The Panhandle Country 

Its Capabilities, Prospects, etc 15-33 

Mild In Winter, Cool in Summer 17 

High Elevation 17 

Settling with Northern People 18 

Climatic Comparisons 19 

Water Supply, Rainfalls, Average Depth of Water, Springs. . . 21-23 

Sheltering and Wintering of Stock 23-24 

Government Lands 25 

Cheap Homes 26 

Wood and Fuel 27-28 

Fodder 29-30 

Experiments with Tree Growing 31-32 

Resident Testimony 33-36 

Fruit Culture 37 

STOCK Raising , 37-38 

Dairying 39 

Lands and Land Laws 39 

Prices of Lands 39 

Public Lands 41 

Unappropriated Public Lands 41 

Homestead Donations 41 

How to Acquire Lands 42-45 



4 CONTENTS. 

Railways 

Important Relation of the Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth R. R. to 

The Texas Panhandle 46 

Shipment of Live Stock 46 

Amount of Freight Forwarded and Received for Year Ending 

November 1, 1889 47 

Educational, Advantages 48-55 

Free Schools 48 

Appropriations for Schools 48 

Sam Houston State Normal School 49 

Prairie View State Normal School 49 

Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas — Its Object and 

Present Policy 50 

State University 53 

Blind Asylum 54 

Deaf and Dumb Asylum 55 

Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute for Colored Youth 55 

Asylums, Hospitals, etc. 

Lunatic Asylums 56 

North Texas Hospital for the Insane 56 

Orphan Asylum 56 

House of Correction and Reformatory 57 

Minerals 57 

The Panhandle by Counties 58-82 

Tarrant County, City of Ft. Worth 58-60 

Wise County, City of Decatur 61-62 

Montague County 63 

Clay County 64 

Jack County, City of Wichita Falls 65 

Wichita County 66-68 

Archer County 68 

Baylor County 69 

Knox County 70 

Wilbarger County, City of Vernon 71-73 

Hardeman County 73 

Green County 74-75 

Childress County 76 

Donley County 77 

Wheeler County 78 

Potter County 79 

Hale County 79 

Crosby County ■ 81 

Oldham County 82 

Unorganized Territory 83 

Wealth and Progress 8.3-84 



CONTENTS. 5 

Useful Information 

Suffrage 84 

Exemption from Taxation 85 

Exemption from Forced Sale 85 

Standard Weight of Farm Products 85 

Legal Rate of Interest 86 

Location of Colonies 86 

Health and Pleasure 80-87 

Hinting and Fishing 88 

WAGES and Cost of Living 90-91 

Panhandle Towns 91-100 



The Texas Panhandle. 



Texas is supposed to have derived its name from a small tribe of Indians 
of the village Tehas, on the Neches, signifying "friend." In 1680, 
LaSalle, the great French explorer, penetrated this immense southwestern 
country. On the part, of the Spanish, Alonzo de Leon made the first 
attempl to settle -Texas, and in 1691 a governor and troops were sent here 
by Spain. LaSalle called the country Louisiana, for Louis XIV. The 
Spaniards named it New Philipines, in honor of Philip V. San Antonio, 
i lie oldest European settlement in Texas, was founded in 1693; Goliad and 
Nacogdoches in 1 717. The foundation of the Alamo was laid in 1744, and 
was denominated a mission. 

Prior to 1820 Texas was ruled by governors. In 1823, Stephen F. Austin 
arrived with colonists, when the Mexican States of Coahuila and Texas 
constituted oue government, with their capital at Saltillo. Complaints of 
failure by these to the Mexican government finally eventuated in the revo- 
lution of 1835. On March 2. 1836, Texas declared itself a free and independ- 
ent government, adopting a constitution on the seventeenth of the same 
month. The first president was David G. Burnet. General Sam Houston 
was made commander-in-chief of the Texan forces, and after terri- 
ble fights and struggles, the heroic baud, only one-third in numbers of their 
enemies, gained the decisive battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 183(5. 
Texas's annexation to the United States took place in 1845. The State 
seceded from the Union February 1, 1861. In 1870 it was re-admitted. 

No attempt will be made in the succeeding pages of this pamphlet to 
give a description of the imperial State of Texas as a whole — that mighty 
empire which covers 252.514 square miles of territory. But a few statistics 
may prove -interesting — a few figures to show the. extent and greatness of 
this majestic domain. There, are in the State two hundred organized and 
forty-five unorganized counties. The population in 1880 was 1,591,740; in 
1890 it is 2,196,439. There were, in 1888, 3,483,181 acres planted with 
cotton, yielding 1,243,908 bales valued at $48,466,412; there were 14,573,677 
head of live stock valued at $92,047,551; there were 3,056 establishments, 
which gave a manufactured product of $40,321,026. There are 8,387 miles 
of railways in the State, employing 27,644 men; $2,205,000 were expended 
for education, and 12,000 teachers are employed in the public schools. 
Texas has $700,000,000 worth of taxable wealth. 

Texas is the largest State in the Union, being six times larger than New 
York, seven times as large as Ohio, and 100,000 square miles larger than all 



8 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

of the eastern and middle States, including Delaware and Maryland. Cota- 
pared to the countries of Europe, it has 34,000 square miles more than the 
Austrian Empire, 62,000 more than the German Empire, and nearly 70,000 
square miles more than France. The topography, like many other charac- 
teristics of the State, is but little understood, except in a general way. The 
country lying east of the 96th degree of longitude, and north of the 30th 
parallel of latitude, and known as "East Texas," is characterized by a long 
range of hills running in an irregular line from northeast to southwest, and 
containing large deposits of brown hematite iron ore. It is also marked by 
a heavy growth of timber, consisting principally of forests of pine, oak, and 
hickory. 

The Gulf Coast is thus described by Prof. Loughridge, of the United 
States Census Bureau: "The coast of Texas presents features different 
from those of any other State; for while in many other States the mainland 
coast is greatly cut up into large bays, extending many miles inland, it is 
here bordered by an almost continuous chain of islands and peninsulas (the 
latter having the same trend as the islands). The Gulf border of this chain 
is a very regular line southwest from the mouth of the Sabine River (or 
Lake) to near Corpus Christi, which occupies the highest point on the entire 
coast, and thence turns with a regular curve south and slightly southeast to 
Mexico." 

The territory east of the timber region and north of the Gulf Coast, as 
above outlined, is a vast open plain composed of gently rolling prairies and 
gradual elevations. It is covered with a luxuriant growth of native grasses, 
and dotted by an occasional mott of timber, and extends to the Red River 
on the north and the mountain ranges of the west and northwest. The 
water-courses and ravines are usually fringed with a growth of hackberry, 
ash, elm, cottonwood, pecan, walnut, and the various oaks. 

West and northwest lie the hills and mountain ranges of the State, 
which are continuations southward of the mountains of Mexico, New Mex- 
ico, and Colorado. In the extreme northwest, bordering Kansas on the 
south and New Mexico on the west, is the elevated table land formerly 
known as the Llano Estacado or Staked Plains. It is now designated as 

THE PANHANDLE OF TEXAS, 

Destined to be the best agricultural and stock-raising section of the State, 
and it is of this new and splendid region we shall attempt to treat. The 
Llano Estacado is an immense high plain. It is related that " the Fathers," 
in 1734, en routs from Santa Fe, visiting San Saba, set up "stakes" with 
buffalo heads so that others might follow the trail, and hence the name 
"Staked Plains." This division embraces 75,000 square miles, or thirty- 
five per cent of the State's entire area. 

AN OUTLINE OF THE COUNTRY. 

The country from Denver south to the summit of the Raton Range, a 
distance of 264 miles, is entirely in the State of Colorado, and the lands are 
in character very much alike, being high and rolling, except in the valleys 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 9 

of the Arkansas and its tributaries. The valley of the Arkansas, being low 
and warm, is consequently too dry to produce crops without irrigation, but 
there is pi. 'iny of water for all such purposes, which may be utilized. On both 
Of the divides — the Arkansas divide, between Denver and Colorado Springs, 
and the northern slope of the Raton Range — the country is sufficiently high 
to have a rainfall which will produce, without fail, good crops of rye, bar- 
ley, oats, and potatoes, and which will average, in the country mentioned, 
as high as any in the United States. 

Both of these divides are natural grass regions. Here the alfalfa 
nourishes: millet ami sorghum make excellent fodder crops, and these sec- 
tions have already developed into excellent dairy regions. There are still 
Government lands on both of these divides, to be entered as homesteads by 
actual settlers. From the. summit of Raton Range, which is the line 
between Colorado and New Mexico, the road runs through Northeastern 
New Mexico. The soil of this section is a black loam, and those who have 
seen the wheat lands of Oregon and Washington say that it is the only anal- 
ogous soil they have ever seen. Agricultural experiments in this vicinity 
have been somewhat meager, but those that have been made proved success- 
ful beyond anticipation. 

At the Texas State line we enter the Panhandle of Texas and run diag- 
onally in a southeasterly direction entirely through it, leaving the Panhandle 
in Childress county. This extensive region is a vast, undulating prairie, except 
where it is broken by the Canadian River, which runs from west to east 
entirely through it; and it is as rich in soil as Illinois, and more fertile in 
promise than Kansas. Very little farming has been done in the upper Pan- 
handle, but there has been enough to justify the belief that it will be the 
greai wheat-producing section of the United States, not surpassed if equaled 
by Oregon. Washington, or Dakota. The average altitude being some four 
thousand feet above the sea, makes it a country of extreme heathfulness. 
Consumption and kindred diseases do not originate here. It is above the 
zone of yellow fever, and malaria is unknown. It is destined to become the 
home of a healthy, hardy race of people, and that which is true of the 
human race applies equally as well to the health of all domestic animals. 
The nights are always cool, and the summers are thus more endurable here 
than in the northern States, while the winters, on the other hand, on 
account of its southern latitude, are mild, and there is no month of the 
winter in which the farmer may not follow his avocation without 
hindrance. 

The average rainfall in this section, as shown by the meteorological 
tables kept at Fort Elliott for the last eight years, has been 27.8 inches 
annually. From the upper Panhandle the precipitation increases slightly 
as you approach the Gulf, until the average reaches some thirty inches 
annually at Dallas and Fort Worth. As twenty-four inches annual rainfall 
is considered all that is necessary, it will be seen that there is an abundance 
of rain all the way from Raton Range to the Gulf. 

From Childress county to Clay, the country has been improved for a few 
years, and it has been abundantly demonstrated to be a country producing 
large crops of wheat, oats, barley, sorghum, corn, Milo-maize, Egyptian corn, 



10 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

alfalfa, Johnson grass, Bermuda grass, potatoes, sweet potatoes, root crops 
and vegetables generally. 

The altitude of this section is somewhat lower than the Panhandle proper, 
and is therefore slightly warmer; but the climate is as inviting as the soil is 
rich and fertile. The surface of this portion of the country resembles 
the upper section in its general aspects, but is more undulating. Every 
variety of tree that has been planted, and every variety of fruit, including 
apples, pears, plums, and grapes, are doing well. The wild grape and the 
wild plum nourish everywhere, and bear enormous crops. 

The next and lower section, from Clay county to Fort Worth, has been 
settled long enough to have thoroughly demonstrated its capacity as a grain, 
cotton, and fruit growing region. While the wheat crop in this section may 
not be as heavy as in the two sections above spoken of, the corn crop is large, 
equaling in acre-production that of Missouri and Kansas. The cotton of 
this region is equal in quality to any of the older States, and the average 
crop is larger than nearly all of them. This whole country will shortly be, 
without doubt, one of the finest fruit-growing regions, particularly for the 
culture of the peach and the grape, that there is in the whole United States. 
This country is partially divided into prairie and timber. The famous 
"cross-timbers" or " burr-oak openings " run through it from north to 
south. 

The people going into this portion of Texas are of the most intelligent 
and thrifty people in the United States. They are equal to the average in 
their aspirations and desire for a high state of civilization. Churches and 
school-houses are springing up everywhere, and are keeping pace with the 
rapid development of the country. Texas has the largest school fund of 
any State of the Union. Half of her lands have been set apart and devoted 
to educational and charitable purposes. In finance, Texas is pre-eminently 
in a prosperous condition. She has no public debt, and a large surplus of 
money in the treasury, a special session of the legislature having been 
called to disburse the money in an overflowing treasury. 

CLIMATOLOGY AND HEALTH. 

It will be seen that the elevation of this table land at once precludes the 
possibility of germ diseases. Consumption, fevers, malaria, and the like 
cannot originate at this altitude. Texas has variety in her climate as well 
as other things. A very large portion of the State is swept by the Gulf 
breezes, which dispense life to vegetation and health to the inhabitants 
wherever they reach. The long summers characteristic of this latitude are 
by them rendered not only endurable but enjoyable. So marked is the 
influence of the Gulf winds on the climate of the State that the average 
temperature along the Gulf coast and for many miles inland is much lower 
during the summer months than it is in the higher latitudes of the north. 
The same influence neutralizes the cold, and makes the winters of the southern 
and southwestern part of the State the mildest and most delightful of any 
State in the Union. Reports of the United States Signal Service show the 
mean temperature at different points as follows: — 



THK TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



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12 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

The prevailing wind throughout the entire State is the south wind from 
the Gulf. 

The " norther " constitutes an important feature of Texas climate, but one 
by no means fraught with such portentous meaning as people abroad have 
been taught to believe by sensational writers, who thriveon extremesof every 
kind. The Texas norther is nothing more than what is elsewhere called a 
cold north wind. The long, unobstructed sweep across the prairies from the 
plains of the northwest heightens its velocity and increases the suddenness of 
its approach, and these are about the only features that distinguish it from a 
cold wave from the north in other States. These winds are classed as "wet" 
and "dry " northers, according as they may be accompanied by rain or sleet, 
or come without either. The wet norther is the kind from which damage to 
vegetation and live stock is most feared. The duration of a wet norther is 
usually about 24 hours. Dry northers last from 48 hours to a week. The 
wind usually reaches its greatest velocity within 24 hours, and then gradu- 
ally subsides until the end, when it veers again to the south. The dry 
northers drive away all miasmatic poison, and are considered a very health- 
ful influence. 

Away from the bottom lands along the streams and low places sub- 
ject to periodical overflows, there is absolutely no cause for sickness, and 
there is no reason why the State should not become a health resort as well as 
a refuge for people seeking to escape the rigors of winter in the more north- 
ern latitudes. West and Southwest Texas have long since been recognized 
by some of the leading physicians of the United States as possessing a cli- 
mate the equal if not the superior of any in the world for persons with a 
tendency to or suffering from any pulmonary affections. 

Children born in this Panhandle region are strong and sturdy, and the 
diseases incident to childhood never assume a malignant form. Endemic and 
epidemic diseases are almost unknown. There are no low, swampy lands 
here, malaria cannot exist, and fever and ague have no foothold. Consump- 
tion, that "dread disease which medicine never cured, riches never warded 
off, nor poverty could boast exemption from," which is the scourge and 
terror of New England and all other moist climates, is here either cured or 
so modified as to prolong life for many years. The dryness, purity, and 
antiseptic properties of the air have a tendency to counteract and reduce 
the excessive mucous collections, while its rarefaction makes necessary 
more frequent and deeper respirations, thus causing a wholesome expansion 
of the lungs. The bright, warm days are conducive to a cheerful and hope- 
ful feeling, which is a great aid in overcoming the disease, while the cool 
nights are productive of sound, invigorating sleep. These influences are 
no less effective in rheumatism, asthma, bronchitis, liver-complaint, dyspep- 
sia, and many other diseases. 

RIVERS AND WATER-COURSES. 

The Canadian River flows through the Panhandle country, as well as the 
Palo Duro, a fork of the Red River, the latter forming the boundary line 
between Texas and the Indian Territory and Arkansas. It has its source 
in the Panhandle country, and flows eastward through Arkansas and 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 13 

Louisiana; emptying into the Mississippi, and draining about 29,000 square 
miles in Texas. The Big and Little Wichita are its principal Texas tribu- 
taries, and both are Panhandle streams. Trinity River has its source in 
Archer and Denton counties, the two forks converging in Dallas county. 

The streams of Northern Texas are pure clear water suitable for domestic 
purposes, and they usually abound in fine fish. Occasionally a deceptive 
stream is met with. The water is inviting to the eye, but it has become 
Strongly impregnated with minerals, and is brackish to the taste and unfit 
for use. In any part of these Staked Plains water may be found of fine 
quality and in any quantity from 10 to 30 feet below the surface. This pure 
limestone water can be reached with unfailing certainty in the Panhandle 
country. [The reader will find a more particular detail of streams under 
the description of counties.] 

TIMBER GROWTH. 

The area of timber in Texas is much greater than is generally supposed 
by persons not familiar with the country. By many people outside of the 
State it is regarded as a vast "treeless" plain; but this, like many other opin- 
ion* of the State formed at a distance, is wide of the mark. In the prairie 
region the bottoms along the streams and ravines are skirted with timber, 
and in most places there is that happy admixture of prairie and timber land 
that so delights the heart of the farmer. Besides this, Eastern and South- 
eastern Texas is covered with a dense forest of fine timber, embracing nearly 
every variety grown in the South. 

The "Cross Timbers" is the name given to two irregular belts of timber 
varying in width and entering the State on the Red River on the north and 
running in a southerly direction across the prairie region. 

The •• Lower Cross Timbers" run from a point on Red River north of 
Gainesville, in Cooke county, south to the Brazos River, in McLennan 
county, a distance of about 135 miles, and has an average width of from 10 
to lo miles, interspersed at irregular intervals with small prairies. 

The " Upper Cross Timbers" leave Red River at a point farther west, 
passing south through Montague county, at the lower edge of which it 
dividss, the eastern portion passing south through Wise and Parker counties 
to the Brazos River, the western veering farther west and extending "south 
into Erath county. 

The timber growth of the Cross Timbers is principally post and black- 
jack oaks. On the streams and lowlands ash, hackberry, pecan, and cotton- 
wood trees are found. 

On the gray sand hills in Eastern Texas the timber growth is mainly 
scrubby post and blackjack oaks. On the black sandy land the timber is 
generally of the same kind but of more perfect growth. The red lands are 
covered with hickory, red and post oaks, with a few sweet and black gum 
and elm trees interspersed. 

Short-leaved pine, interspersed with hickory and the various oaks, is 
found from Bowie county on the Red River south along the eastern edge of 
the State, finally merging into the long-leaved pine region. The area of 



\l THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

the pineries, both long and short-leaved, is estimated at 25,000,000 acres, 
capable of producing 04,587,420,000 feet of merchantable lumber. Along 
the streams, especially the larger ones, walnut and ash timber is abundant. 
In the southern part of the State near the Gulf, and west bordering on the 
plains, the live oak is a prominent growth. It is found singly or in clumps 
on the prairies and in the edges of the bottoms. 

The mesquitc is a tree found more generally in the Panhandle than any 
other. It is a common growth on the prairies. A prairie with a growth of 
mesquite six or eight years old resembles a peach orchard very much in 
appearance. The mesquite is a small scrubby tree, and produces a bean 
similar in size and appearance to the common corn-field bean. It is very 
nutritious and highly prized as a food for horses and cattle. It has 
spread rapidly over the prairies within the last few years, and now 
furnishes fire-wood in many localities where a few years ago there was not 
a stick of any kind of fuel to be found. Cedar of stunted growth also forms 
a large part of the timber north and west of the Colorado River, and is 
usually found on the sides and apexes of the hills and mountains. 

The pecan tree, which produces the delicious pecan nut, is found on 
nearly all the streams, but more abundantly in Southern and Western Texas, 
where there are numerous pecan groves in the valleys and on the uplands. 
Gathering and marketing the pecan crop forms no inconsiderable adjunct 
to the industries of that section. The pecan crop of 1887 was estimated at 
9,000,000 pounds, valued at $540,000. 

West of the 100th meridian the timber growth is very limited, being al- 
most exclusively confined to the ravines and water-ways until the outlying 
ridges of the Rocky Mountains are reached. 

THE SOIL. 

Texas justly lays claim to a greater variety and richness of soil than 
almost any other State in the Union. The black waxy, black sandy, black 
pebbly, hog wallow, gray sandy, red sandy, sandy loam, and alluvial soils, 
are each to be found in the State, the majority of them in greater or less 
quantities in each section. About the best evidence of the richness and fer- 
tility of these various soils that can be offered, is the fact that commercial 
fertilizers, now so common in the older States, and constituting as much a 
fixed charge on the agricultural interests of those sections as the seed 
necessary to plant the ground, are not used at all in Texas. Another fact 
worthy of mention in this connection is that there are thousands of acres in 
cultivation in this State that have been cultivated continuously for more 
than thirty years which now yield as much per acre as they did when first 
planted. The principal soils of Texas are the black waxy, black sandy, and 
alluvial lands of the river bottoms. 

The soil of the Panhandle country possesses probably more lasting qual- 
ities than that of any other section of the State. It is a chocolate-oolored 
loam, underlaid with sulphate of lime (gypsum) and the common grade of 
limestone. This loam, resting upon such a basis for tlie renewal of its 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 15 

nutritive qualities, is practically indestructible — it will not wear oai for 

centuries to eome. 

PANHANDLE AGRICULTURB. 

The future greatness of the Panhandle region as a wheat-producing dis- 
trict is well assured by the record of production for the past few years. 
The crop returns have been simply wonderful. In the detail of counties. 
which will be found elsewhere, statistics of the yield are presented, show- 
ing the peculiar adaptability of this altitude to raising heavy crops of 
wheat. We will for a time deal with some personal phases of farming here, 
showing the reader what has been done in this section, and present a series 
of reports from farmers now engaged in raising crops. One of Iowa's 
Shrewdest observers, the Hon. James Wilson, himself a practical farmer of 
thirty years* experience in the •• Hawkeye" State, recently made a thorough 
examinath f the entire Panhandle country. The result of his observa- 
tions are given carefully, thoughtfully, impartially. His report, contains 
so much common sense and such strongly conservative estimates that it is 
given herewith nearly entire. Mr. Wilson says: — 

"Thirty-three years of work in Iowa suggested a play-spell, — not exactly 
sick, nor ailing altogether, but. tired a little. Can't go on incessantly, as of 
yore: and while our State reposes under her white coverlet, I thought it 
well to run down below the snow line and look at things. I may tell Iowa 
folks of agriculture and its advantages and drawbacks in sunnier States 
without danger of provoking jealousy. Iowa is secure in the intelligence of 
her people. With their religion, their morality, their thrift, and the excel- 
lence of their soil, they are happy in the advanced position she occupies 
among States in all respects; but one may speak of what he sees in other 
lands with an assurance of complacency among the Hawkeyes. I will look 
out of a farmer's eyes, and tell what I see pertaining to the different 
departments of the farm. It may be well for us to know of the leverages 
other people move things with, and the disabilities they work under. I 
started south, resolved to get out of snow if I had to go as far as the Gulf 

of Mexico. 

"I MIGHT HAVE GONE TO FLORIDA OR CALIFORNIA, 

And might have loaded up with oranges and apricots, but my taste is not 
that way. Besides, when a man goes fishing, he does not want a dozen land 
agents bothering and meddling with his bait, and deafening him about tak- 
ing an option on thousand-dollar-an-acre land, on which to raise pomegran- 
ates or lie in wait till a greener tenderfoot happens along to take a further 
option at fifteen hundred dollars an acre, twelve per cent interest, secured 
by bill of sale or otherwise. That's all well enough for people who feel that 
way. 

" Furthermore, I could see little that I have not heard of or read about. 
Down here it is different. Iowa competes with this locality in meats, 
grains, horses, and other things. Between Kansas on the north, the Mis- 
sissippi River on the east, the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and the Rocky 



16 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

Mountains on the west, is an empire — if I may use the term — that I know 
little of, but which looks like our prairies, and which is doing the bulk of 
the railroad building of the nation at present, preparing to enter the domain 
of interstate and international commerce entirely independent of the com- 
mercial systems to which we in Iowa are tributary, Questions that agitate 
northern people relative to hauling freight over the Alleghanies this local- 
ity will not be interested in. The gulf and the sea will stand to it in the 
same relations that Chicago stands to Iowa. Distributing points will be at 
tide-water where competition may operate. 
" I came to find a genial climate, 

"SIXTY DEGREES IN THE SHADE IN JANUARY, 

And have reached it. Overcoats and overshoes, double mittens, and wrap- 
pers for the throat, are of no use here. A winter resort in idleness is not 
best. There is much to learn in new agricultural countries, and vigor is as 
likely to come in pursuit of facts 'as otherwise. A territory lies to the 
northwest of Fort Worth, known as the Panhandle, of which so many 
wonderful things are said that one is curious to verify them. Twenty-eight 
counties, thirty miles square, south of latitude 37, and west of the Indian 
Territory, a land of deep soil held at from $2 to $3 au acre, rising gradually 
to 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. Railroads are heading for it. The 
Denver, Texas & Fort Worth Division of the great Union Pacific System 
is completed through it, and others are surveying routes to this last great 
scope of cheap land. I will look into it. 

"THE PANHANDLE COUNTRY. 

"There is a sentiment that possesses one in seeing for the first time a 
part of our country never visited before: it is part of the United States, — of 
our country, — of my country. Every soul one meets may be a stranger, but 
they speak our common language. Much is common to us all. The flag 
floats on some building, the names on the cars connect the extremes of our 
land, — Atlantic, Pacific, Chicago, Kansas City, Dos Moines, Denver, Fort 
Worth. There's the telegraph, speak with home. There's the postoffice, U. S 
A., write home. If you want the best hotel, ask the commercial traveler — he 
knows, and he is everywhere. Every part of our domain is fast assuming 
position in the great whole — one country, one people, one destiny. The 
man who neither reads nor travels has not taken full possession of his 
birthright. The man who reads but does not travel, can only speculate con- 
cerning the grandeur of his possessions in joint sovereignty. The American 
who travels abroad before he is familiar with his own country, must be 
about as interesting to foreigners as a child that gets lost and cannot tell 
where it strayed from. There is little to be seen abroad that is not excelled 
at home, except Lowell's ' old castles,' monuments of ruthless times. Every 
year our great missionary, the railroad, is adding to commercial America 
empires of great interest, particularly in the Southwest, that waited till the 
upper parallels of latitude were laid with steel and graced with civilization. 
Now its turn has come. It got much of the 13,000 miles of new road last 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 17 

year, and will get more nexl year. An interesting country, now accessible, 

is i nr Panhandle of Texas. From what I hear, it is just the place for a 

farmer to resort in winter. It takes a clever man to absorb half of our 
development. 

"MILD IN WINTER, COOL IN SUMMER. 

"The unique features of the Panhandle country that make it inviting to 
northern men are its low latitude, which secures mild weather in winter, 
and its high altitude, which assurescool weather in summer. Where the 
Denver. Texas A- Fort Worth Division of the Union Pacific System — known 
as the Panhandle Routt — enters it near its northwest corner, it is 4,700 feet 
above the level <>f the sea. The country descends gradually to Fort Worth, 
elevated only til \ feet, a distance of 450 miles south. 

•• The south line of the section of country known as the Panhandle is not 
arbitrarily located; but if we lake the southwest corner of the Indian Terri- 
tory as the southwest boundary, — and there is no good reason for it, as the 
land is very much the same for a long distance south, — we find the southern 
elevation is from 1.800 to 2,000 feet above tide-water. Spirit Lake, Iowa, is 
the highest point in our State — some 1,700 feet — and that is several hundred 
feet lower than the southernmost part of this winter resort of mine. If I 
remember correctly. Des Moines is less than 1,000 feet elevation, as is most 
of the State of Iowa. The Mississippi River at Davenport and the Missouri 
at Council Bluffs are little if any more elevated than Fort Worth, while 
Fort Worth is in latitude 33° and Des Moines is in latitude 42°. 

"THE HIGH ELEVATION. 

"The center of the Panhandle has over 2,000 feet higher elevation than 
the center of Iowa. This is what makes this region entirely different from 
the old Texas we have been reading about. It is entirely above the range 
of the fever region of the coast. There is nothing to produce malaria in 
man or beast. Cattle driven or shipped north from it do not give the 
splenetic fever to others. So well is this understood, that Colorado and 
New Mexico do not quarantine against it, but to the south of it draw the 
line from below which cattle must not be taken. 

"A COUNTRY OF GRASS AND BEEF. 

•■ Here the cheap beef is raised that afflicts northern growers under con- 
ditions of which I am ignorant. Here grain-raising is only pursued in an 
indifferent manner, and yet the aggregates look ominous. I thought I would 
look into things a little, and take notes, and see whether we up north can 
safely rest secure in the advantages we have, of more thrift, if we are 
more thrifty; of better culture, if we cultivate better; and see how far we 
are ahead of the different departments of the farm, if we are ahead. 

■z Texas 



18 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

"ANOTHER IOWA IN THE SOUTH. 

"This new country is as little settled as Western Iowa was thirty years 
ago. A strip twenty-four miles wide separates it from Kansas, known as 
'No Man's Land,' because it happened to be left out of all territorial or 
State jurisdiction. The face of the country is as fair as Grundy county, 
Iowa. What its agricultural possibilities are, I intend to investigate and 
inquire into. If it has plenty of water, will grow grains and fodders, trees 
and shrubs, there are natural advantages here that can only be competed 
with by northern farmers with the most approved methods of agriculture. 
Very little straight farming is being done yet. The ranchman and long- 
horned steer have possession, together with the pioneer who follows the 
hunter, and the farmer who is just coming. Railroads have preceded the 
grain-grower instead of following him. Society consists of the villager and 
the cow-boy, with here and there a farmer who is making experiments. 
People talk about the town and the ranch. The papers speak of cattle, 
stock, ranches, and cows. Singularly, you hear nobody talk politics, nor do 
the papers discuss them. 

"SETTLING WITH NORTHERN PEOPLE. 

"Pour-fifths of the people in Fort Worth and north of it are northern 
men. All the States are sending people here. The cotton-growers from 
Georgia and other Gulf States are seeking the Panhandle to grow grain, 
with a hope of attaining some day to the ownership of good cattle and 
horses. 

"There are problems to be settled with regard to rainfall and the time of 
it, heat and cold, times of sowing and reaping, grains suitable and other- 
wise, that wait for intelligent minds to think out. The long-horned steer, 
with from ten to twenty acres of land devoted to him makes in three to 
five years what a prime Iowa yearling will. Land stays below two dollars 
an acre holding up such steers. The active American is challenging the 
right of the long-horned steer to such a soil and climate 1 as the Panhandle, 
with such returns. The northern farmer who builds sheds and barns, and 
grows fodder and grain, and imports the best the Old World has to improve 
with, is looking over the situation. The poor steer, as he travels long dis- 
tances to natural springs and back again to his inesquite grass, looks with 
suspicion at tanks being dug and wind-mills going up, and teams plowing: 
but his day is waning. 

"One thing I have settled now; that is, the existence, for certain, of the 
famed Panhandle appetite. Ham, beef, or pork, sir ? — Both, please. Which 
way will you have your potatoes'?— By the peck. Tea or coffee? — Coffee 
first. Apple pie, peach pie, mince pie, sir? — Some of all kinds, please. 
Home oranges or apples, sir ? — Both. How will you have your oysters, did 
you say? — The raw first, then the fried, afterward the stewed. Keep 
bringing till you reach the tooth-picks. 

"Of my investigations into the practical things of water-supply, rainfall, 
and grain-growing possibilities, I will report in the several letters I shall 
•write hereafter This country is a revelation to me, and I must tell the 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 1» 

people of Iowa about it in detail Those who am looking for homes In a 
warmer climate, affording cheap lands, should investigate this region." 

CLIMATIC COMPARISONS. 

"The movement westward of population since 1860 has been principally 
north of the fortieth parallel. Railroad building, the building of towns, 
and the development of the Mississippi Valley has been principally in the 
Northwest, which has a climate varying little from that of the Eastern and 
Middle States. European immigration has been mostly diverted westward 
on the upper parallels, and with congenial experience, as it came generally 
from the latitudes of Europe having similar customs. The conditions of 
human and animal life in latitudes where snow lies in winter have become 
second nature to people of the Northwestern States. Expensive provisions 
for winter for man and beast, strong food, abundant fuel and warm clothing 
for the former, and warm barns, grains and fodders for the hu r, are con- 
sidered matters of course. The profits of labor in summer by families are 
largely consumed in winter in keeping out the cold; and the best senti- 
ments of oar nature find free course in helping to feed, clothe, and warm 
our unfortunate fellows. The farmer has nice calculations to make in our 
upper latitudes regarding what it will pay to winter over. Some farmers 
feed half of the year; the most provident do not escape feeding a third of 
the year, when winters are unusually mild. 

"The opening up of the Southwest is bringing into convenient reach 
sections where farming will be conducted under 

"MUCH MORE FAVORABLE CONDITIONS, 

Both as regards providing for the family and as regards the carrying over 
of stock. The Panhandle of Texas is one of those localities that is now 
open to settlers. Farming operations are carried on there, or can be, simi- 
lar to much of Europe. Plowing goes on nearly all winter, as in most of 
Europe. Land is prepared for crops at much less expense, and it can be 
done in better shape than in the upper latitudes, where the soil freezes in 
early November, and stays frozen till April. 

" Everything must be done up north in a hurry. Man and beast on the 
farm must strain to the utmost to get in crops in season, care for them in 
season while growing, and harvest them in season, — all in the short summer 
months. Really we have but two seasons, summer and winter. 

"COLD AND WARM CLIMATES. 

" It is claimed, of course, that the man who lives in the cold climate of 
the North is the man for vigor, and the man who lives in climates having 
mild winters, loses force. Let us inquire into this. England, Scotland, 
Ireland, and much of Germany have winters so mild that farming opera- 
tions, such as gathering roots, sowing grains, plowing and harrowing, are 
carried on during the winter months. The people of these countries have. 
as much vigor as is found among people of colder latitudes. We cannot 



20 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

reason that northern men will lose their force should they go far enough 
south to find mild winters, provided they do not encounter too hot sum- 
mers. Location according to latitude does not altogether determine 
the climatic conditions of the country. The British Isles lie between 
50 and 60 degrees of north latitude, more than 10 degrees higher than Iowa; 
but the ocean currents keep these islands warm. 

"THE PANHANDLE COUNTRY 

Is below 37 degrees, and is cool in summer because of its high altitude. 
This no doubt applies to many other localities being opened up by rail- 
roads, but I can only speak of what I have seen. Industrial operations are 
practicable in the locality I speak of, that are not possible farther north. 
Nor is it a mere corner that is presented to civilization by the Denver, 
Texas & Fort Worth Division of the Union Pacific System, where 
a few lucky farmers can till with light expense and plant crops at both ends 
of the year. It is a scope of country nearly as large as Iowa, within the 
State of Texas, much of the Indian Territory and New Mexico that I saw 
personally, and how much more I do not know. Northern men admit slowly 
the force of such happy combinations for farming operations even when 
they see them, and inquire for compensating drawbacks, the conditions 
are so different from those that circumscribe the northern farmer. The 
best results in stock-growing, in grain-raising, in dairying, in root culture, 
and in grazing have been found in countries that have open winters and 
mild summers. Good results in six months of frozen ground and four 
months of snow come in defiance of the conditions, and through unceasing 
energy. We must estimate the coming force of the competition of those 
southwestern States that 

"PLOW IN JANUARY AND SOW IN FEBRUARY, 

And harvest in May and June, that can grow fodders after August, 
where cattle would not prefer sheds one day in ten if they had them. I 
noticed a striking illustration of the ease with which stock is well 
wintered near the north line of Texas. The method is suggestive to us. 
A lot of late September calves had an open shed. They were fed cane 
fodder — our northern sorghum grown so thickly that the stalks were as 
fine as pipe stems. The little fellows were in as good condition as our 
calves that get some grain and all the good hay they want every day. They 
grazed on the mesquite grass also. That is making cheap beef. The mild 
weather made the fodder and grass ample. A large per cent of the feed 
was not required to shingle the calves against extreme cold. 

" DAIRYING 

Is not carried on extensively here at this time (1888). A cow-boy will rope 
a cow, another will milk her — for coffee. But dairying can be conducted 
under the conditions that produce the finest goods in the favored districts 
of Europe. The dairy cow to be successful must be kept warm. She docs 
her best with roots and vegetables, that require mild winters to enable the 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 21 

operator to handle them with profit. The ranchmen will never turn dairy- 
men; but as competition in production demands economy, industries will 
gradually discover where they are most at home. Winter resorts here and 
yonder will be discovered where invalids can breathe] easier, and live 
longer, where town lots and orchards bound the horizon. I am writing of 
the coming competition of the 

' LOWER LATITUDES WITH THE UPPER, 

Where sunshine excuses the snow-drift; where the European-born farmer 
will lind constitutions similar to those he was born amidst; /where coming 
millions below the thirty-seventh parallel in winter sunshine will produce 
for the same market the farm crops that are now manipulated in the colder 
latitudes of the north; where fuel is as abundant and convenient, but not 
half so much needed, as in the northern States; where winter rains and suns 
carry on the crops toward maturity before the hottest months of summer 
come to injure the growth farther north. A certain per cent of our poeple 
can go to tropical latitudes to grow fruits. The millions will grow staple 
farm products. The first inquiry ever present is concerning something to 
eat. The farm is the natural place for the family, and Iowa people who will 
go south for a warmer climate can get homes in the Panhandle, where con- 
ditions for growing what it pays the farmer to raise are favorable." 

THE WATER SUPPLY 

"The question of ' how to get water ' has become a leading one in all 
prairie countries in consequence of the drouth of the last two years. It has 
become evident that shallow wells will not furnish water in all seasons, and 
that the lower water levels must be reached so that the stock that find 
pasturage on a given amount of land may get water without the loss of flesh 
that follows long drives. No outlay of the farm has disappointed so much 
as that put in wells that have not been permanent. We have not knowledge 
that has become general concerning what is beneath us; consequently we 
nave dug, bored, and piped, and tubod for water, each after his own ideas 
based on guess-work. There are few farmers who have not lost hundreds 
of dollars in sinking for water that are a dead loss. Exact information will 
come from experiments and publication of them. 

"The Panhandle country is similar to Iowa as far as water is concerned. 
While cattle in an open country have access to running water, they can only 
go three or four miles to drink, and thrive. I inquired into the water prob- 
lem of many men. but got little information to the point until I met Mr. 
George Pindley, the agent of the Capital Cattle Company, an organization 
that owns 3,000,000 acres and 120,000 cattle, and has observed the necessity 
of putting water within the easy reach of all their animals Their ranch 
extends 200 miles north and south along the borders of New Mexico, and 
incloses part of what is seen on the map as the ' Staked Plains.' The Com- 
pany have bored and dug and made dams. They stop at 300 feet in boring, 
and have only failed in three instances in getting water at that depth while 



22 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

establishing eighty wells. The average depth of these wells is 132 feet, 
and 

' THE AVERAGE DEPTH OF WATER IS 35 FEET. 

"All of these wells supply 500 cattle each in the driest times, and many 
of them supply 1,000 head, which is considered as many as can find grass 
conveniently. Two of those wells on the Staked Plains flow without arti- 
ficial power to raise the water; the water is raised by wind-mills in the 
others Tanks of 15,000 gallons capacity hold water to serve over calms, 
and cisterns of from 50,000 to 100,000 gallons are being constructed. They 
have 20 dug wells not deeper than 20 feet, that have sufficient water to sup- 
ply the minimum of 500 cattle. They erect dams across the bottom of small 
amphitheaters to hold rain and spring water, a plan that is common in 
Southern Iowa. It is done simply by plowing and scraping up an embank- 
ment with three feet slope to one of rise on the inside, and two to one on 
the outside. After a season or two it becomes entirely water tight. Where 
sand or gravel is present, a trench is firs+ dug and filled with surface soil 
tramped tight. Many of these wells are in what has been known as the ' no- 
watei country' on the Staked Plains. Its grasses were not valuable until 
the welL were made, as stock could not graze in summer and go to the large 
streams to drink; but now it is as valuable as any similar soil in the Pan- 
handle. The water in all but five of those wells is good for man's use, and 
the five furnish water that agrees well with stock, while it is brackish to 
the human taste. I can see a remedy in all this for droughts. This country 
has an average of 25% inches of rainfall. Some crops would need irriga- 
ting in extreme seasons. The dam and cistern and wind-mill would and 
will help over the extremity, as water would only be needed to eke out the 
natural rainfall in dry seasons. To what extent it is practical to irrigate 
crops by pumping, I do not yet know, 

"RAINFALL. 

" The rainfall in the Panhandle, as reported by the United States Signal 
Station in Wheeler county, Fort Elliott, from 1880 to 1887, inclusive, is as 
follows: In 1880, 16.79 inches; 1881, 16.16; 1882, 24.76; 1883, 28.21; 1884, 
33.91; 1885, 37.05; 1886, 21.65; and in 1887, 26.14,— an average of 25.58 inches. 

"THE AVERAGE RAINFALL 

Of this country is sufficient to mature crops on most of its soils, provided it 
comes at the right time. No country that depends on clouds for moisture 
is positively certain of this. In northern latitudes there is but one series of 
months in which to grow crops — from frost to frost; here there are two 
seasons. The questions to be determined in future will be the time of plant- 
ing, so as to take advantage of heat and moisture. Experiments are being 
made now by a few careful men, and success has been reached at both ends 
of the year, with different crops. People here have not yet learned that 
thorough culture takes the place of rainfall, or rather prepares the soil to 
extract moisture, as corn-growers in the north have discovered. First-class 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE 23 

farmers more and more defy the weather. The Panhandle lias but few 
fanners (if any kind, but Bomeof the few arc good ones. One is struck with 
the small comparative expense necessary to winter stock here. Then' was 
a 'norther' here in January, when the thermometer fell to zero and below 
in some places for a day or two: at the same time it was 30° below in Iowa. 

SPRINGS. 

"The ' plains' are the high table-lands covered generally with a deep 
chocolate-colored soil. The sources of the Red and Arkansas rivers are in 
the plains. Wherever the headwaters of those rivers have made valleys, 
springs come out, and until the advent of the spade and anger, stock found 
water at the rivers and creeks and springs that flowed from the greai reser- 
voirs in the plains. There is plenty of water in the Panhandle. It does 
not come to the surface, every few miles. The divides must be dug or bored 
for water before small farms can exist, but such is the condition since the 
drouths of 1886-7, all the way from Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico. The 
divides between the streams are dry on and near the surface in the State 
where the drouth operated. Iowa towns are at present boring artesian 
wells of great depth. Only the ranchmen in the Panhandle can afford the 
expense. 

" I have traveled already several hundred miles over this region and 
tind that water can be frequently found in springs, or in shallow dug wells, 
and nearly always in bored wells of 100 feet. The water on some of the 
great divides, found in depressions that have no outlet — similar to the 
Wright county ponds, only on a much larger scale — is brackish, and they 
are called alkali lakes. Stock do well on it, and the people evidently do 
not suffer from the spring water and dug wells, as they seem rugged and 
healthy. 

"STOCK WITHOUT SHELTER 

Suffered here, but there was no need of it. A section is fenced with wire. 
There may be a 'break ' or ravine, and there may be none. Since I came 
here there has been no need of any protection. Stock graze on the natural 
grasses. If too many are in the pasture, they get poor. If not, they are as 
sleek as our Iowa cattle that get hay or shock fodder. If they only live till 
spring the operation is considered a success. They could be fattened, as 
many kinds of forage will grow well; but that has not been thought of. 
The fjrass in summer will fatten them if too many are not put on it, and 
there is not much difference between the long-horned range cat lie and the 
unimproved Iowa cattle. Nor is there much difference in the prices for 
which they sell If the herd masters here should take it into their heads to 
provide shelter against the northers and rainy days, grow cane, and corn, 
and millet, to fatten with and buy Improved bulls to grade up with, the 
grower of the unimproved cattle in northern States would be surely driven 
to the wall. There is nothing to hinder the Panhandle people from grading 
up their horses, also. 



24 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

"IT SELDOM SNOWS, 

And horses can graze the year round. I have heard of stock farms that 
have imported draught horses, but tho people have not used them anywhere 
I have traveled. The northern settler will, however, have improved horses, 
and I cannot imagine more favorable conditions of soil and climate to breed 
them, The wild horse is here yet that has bred and reproduced him- 
self for centuries Better care and better food are all that is required to 
make him larger. Usage would make him more gentle, but there is no 
necessity of beginning with him. 

'All the Panhandle country is from two to three hundred miles nearer 
the tide-water than Chicago is Practically the same freight rates obtain 
from New Orleans and Galveston as from New York and other eastern ports 
to European markets. The Gulf ports will reach New York on as favorable 
terms as the middle States The activity of Chicago reaches here for busi- 
ness. Lower cost of transportation from the Gulf coast will surely invite 
freight and capital and enterprise to handle it. The deepening of the 
passes at New Orleans made that city the second exporting point for grains 
in the nation, because grains could be moved more cheaply that way. Just 
as soon as the people of this part of the country insist loudly enough upon 
having a harbor on the coast that will admit the ocean-going steamer, they 
will get it. At present they are contending over points of location. 

" WINTERING STOCK. 

"The Iowa Parmer's heaviest disability in raising stock is between grass 
and grass — in the winter time. Where grass is eaten as fast as it grows, 
fodders must be furnished half the year Where fields are preserved dur- 
ing the summer so that stock can graze till snow falls and after it melts, 
the foddering season is shortened three and a half or four months in 
ordinary winters. Even this is no small expense in stock-raising. A 
majority of stock in Iowa grow none in winter. They weigh no more in 
spring than in the fall In considering the probable competition with us 
in stock-raising of the locality I have been describing, I observe that no 
fodders are fed, except in rare instances; but that does not argue that a 
better class of farmers will not manage differently. Cattle in the Panhan- 
dle evidently make no gain in winter; nay. more, they evidently lose much 
that they gain in summer. The best grass Iowa has for winter grazing is 
the Kentucky blue grass. I cannot hear of its having been tried in Texas 
anywhere. It is very evident, however, that the native grasses would, if 
preserved, answer the same purpose in the Panhandle that the blue grass 
serves in Iowa. The ranches are never over-stocked, at least, most of them. 
Where the buffalo grass has not been eaten, that furnishes fair grazing, 
not enough to fatten stock but to give them a fodder equivalent. I doubt 
if an acre of buffalo grass, preserved from pasturage, on the best lands, 
would equal an acre of blue grass; but stock can always get at it, and 
this is a great leverage they have in wintering stock down here, or rather, 
up here. Snow very rarely lies more than a day or two If we had the 
same conditions in Iowa, we could winter much cheaper. Some ranchmen 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 25 

from the north are trying to finish their cattle with cane, and big stories 
are told. A Mr. Lomax, an Iowa man, fed a 680-pound half short-horn 
yearling on his ranch twenty pounds of cut sugar-cane a day for thirty days, 
and had a gain <>f titty pounds. They are beginning to feed cotton-seed 
cake which costs about the same as our flax-seed cake; the- results are about 
the same with the latter as with the former. The British people buy the 
hulk of both kinds of cake made in the United States, so it will not much 
di8turb beef values if the Southerner feeds his at home to the native Steers. 
[ am only speaking of possibilities, however. I know how slowly farmers 
get out of old ruts. What could be done here with mild winters, breezy 
summers, rich soil, and cheap lands, is quite a different thing from what is 
likely to be done immediately.*' 

GOVERNMENT LANDS. 

"The cheap, good lands of the United States that can be farmed with- 
out irrigation or fertilizing are becoming scarce. There are lands north of 
the corn belt that are good, but frosts often interfere with the raising of 
even small grains. Life is more of a struggle, and the past winter admon- 
ishes that severe penalties come to those who venture too far north. Hardy, 
venturesome people, however, will settle on those lands eventually, and 
learn by experience how to wrest a living from them. The new Southwest, 
coming into commercial relations with the world, offers the last cheap, good 
lands under genial skies on the continent. The Territories, and all the 
States except Texas, offer Government land under the various federal laws 
that apply to squatting, pre-empting, and homesteading of different kinds 
of land in varying quantities. Texas controls her own lands. The even- 
numbered sections are devoted to schools, making a more than liberal en- 
dowment. The State has disposed of her other lands. Three years' actual 
residence is required of purchasers, after which they can pay up and get 
title, at the rate of two dollars an acre for land not touching living 
water, and three dollars an acre for land that does. As much as 640 acres 
can be taken this way. A small payment is required at settlement of the 
land, and then forty years' time, at five per cent, is given if desired. All 
through the large ranches the settler on his section of land may be 

seen. 

'•The ranchman must pay four cents an acre to the school fund, as rent, 
for all enclosed lands. The lease is at an end whenever a settler desires to 
purchase. In the southern part of the Panhandle, where population has 
become dense enough to require schools, and school sections are taken up to 
some extent, the funds are ample now to support the schools. It does not 
require a lively imagination to see what will be the result when all these 
alternate sections are taken up. Such a school fund will be provided, with 
reasonable care, that no taxes whatever need be levied upon the people to 
support schools, and what a relief it will be to an industrial community! 
Iowa people notice that about half their taxes are for school purposes. Just 
as fast as growing neighborhoods cause land to rise, the State will no 
doubtraisethe valuation on the adjacent school lands, so that not only will the 



26 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

different funds be provided for, but books may be provided, if it be not 
feared that it would enter the domain of too much coddling. It will be but 
a short time till people will discover this rare 

"OPPORTUNITY TO SECURE CHEAP HOMES 

On good farming land. The Panhandle was as inaccessible as Alaska till 
the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth Division of the Union Pacific System 
opened it up. A few ranchmen had bought up the lands that were for sale at 
very low rates by the State. Means more or less questionable were used some- 
times to get possession of school lands. The ranchman did not want settlers; of 
cotirse it was too far from market to grow crops, 200 miles in many cases, so the 
country remained as Nature left it. All this is now changed, or rapidly 
changing. People who want good land from the eastern Gulf States, who have 
ruined their farms by growing cotton, or who find no profit in paying for 
fertilizers, are looking over the Panhandle. People from the low-lying river 
and coast districts, with bad livers, are seeking the high, healthy uplands 
of the Panhandle. People from the Northwest who have reached middle 
life, and suffer from severe winters, and do not want to bother with town 
lots in boomed localities, or meddle with fruit-growing, are looking over 
this new locality, and are generally charmed with it. Heads of families in 
the north who want more acres, so as to keep the young people about 
them, have heard of the low prices, and open winters, convenient seaports, 
and wide range of crops, from peanuts to winter wheat, and are looking the 
country over. A few years will settle up the Panhandle of Texas. 

"A MINGLING OF CROPS. 

" It has often been asked, 'What would have been the future of the 
New England States if the Pilgrims had first settled in the Mississippi 
Valley?' I suppose the shallower soils of New England would have waited 
till the deeper soils of the great river were occupied. The question now 
presents itself in kindred, shape regarding lower latitudes where wheat and 
other cereals will grow well, and animal life develop well. Much of the 
very finest land on the continent within those latitudes has not 
been accessible, and much of it is not now. What we have all read about 
the desirableness of Oklahoma, within Indian Territory, applies equally to 
the Panhandle country and much of adjacent New Mexico and Southern 
Colorado. They alHie within the same latitude, but the Indian Territory 
is barred to white men by federal statutes .assigning it to the aborigines, 
and want of railroads has heretofore barred farmers from the territory on 
the west. 

" It is interesting to see the grouping of the crops in this latitude, 
planted by men from different States of the Union. The Georgians and 
Mississippians and settlers from Alabama plant cotton, peanuts, and 
peaches. The Kentuckian plants tobacco. The settler from Louisiana 
plants ribboned sugar-cane and sweet potatoes. Northern settlers plant 
winter wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, northern potatoes, beets, cabbage, 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 27 

corn, apples and the like. The man from Upper Colorado sows alfalfa 
and talks of irrigating his garden, and does it, and gets such returns us 
Iowa people would only believe if they saw them. Extremes meet, the 
upper and the lower latitudes mingle crops and customs. Sententious 
expressions result: 'We can grow anything.' Enterprising breeders 
are there with horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs from all the approved 
breeders of Europe and America. I saw a pair of fine Berkshires in the 
Ritoo Blanco canon fifty miles from a postoffice. I saw Polled Angus, 
Hereford and Short-Horns at Buffalo Springs (managed by Mr. Farwell, a 
Powesheik man), 80 miles from Tascosa, the nearest postoffice. People up 
here want to improve the "she cattle' as they term them, and the conten- 
tion is quite as lively as in the northwest regarding favorite breeds. 
" I might say incidentally, that 

"THE PANHANDLE HOG 

Is a natural concern. He has an old-fashioned face with a nose to it. His 
neck has not been bred away. He has real, sure-enough legs, and only 
dies when he can't help it. I have two-thirds of a notion to bring some of 
them back to Iowa. There is no hog cholera here. The hog is troubled 
with nothing butr appetite. When I saw him I remembered the experience 
of a Pennsylvania breeder of Chester Whites who took a litter to a North 
Carolina State fair to sell. An adjacent pen of ' natives' sold readily, while 
nobody asked the price of his. He inquired into the cause and was told 
that nobody wanted a hog that a negro could run down. 

" There are few newspapers to the square league up that-a-way. Peo- 
ple from all over the Union meet and fraternize. Sectional questions will 
not be called up to disturb if interested parties wanting votes for something 
will let them alone. The development of the country is the all-engrossing 
subject at present. Northern men are very much wanted because of their 
knowledge of grain and stock-farming. At Fort Worth, a town of 30,000 
people, northern men are elected to office as mayor and aldermen in their 
fitness for the positions. If anybody thinks that Fort Worth people are 
slow coaches, he will be mistaken if he acts on the belief in a business way. 
Everybody seems conscious that the country will develop rapidly and values 
enhance as rapidly, and the hope of gain quickens the gait of the people. 

•' As to the continuance of the ranchman, who owns much of the lands in 
the Panhandle, he cannot keep these lands for raising low-priced cattle 
after the settler offers him more per acre than the long-horned steer will 
pay interest on. They ask from $1.50 to #3.00 an acre, bodies of land from 
4,000 to 100,000 acres being offered at these prices. Colonies could buy 
out ranchman and cattle together, or they could get the State school lands 
outside of the ranch fences, or inside of them. Settlers with the power of 
taxation understand the methods necessary to get rid of speculators in land, 
although the maximum levy is fixed by the State for all purposes at present. 

"FUEL AND WOOD. 

"Southwestern Texas is heavily wooded. The long-leafed or hard 
resinous pine abounds. It is used for nearly all the purposes there for 



28 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

which the soft pine of the North is used in the Northwest. It is quite 
cheap at the forests, as are most of the woods in the new Southwest. 
Bois (VArc (Osage orange) is the post timber down here. It is greatly 
preferred to red cedar, and is said to be practically indestructible. I 
observed a peculiar supply of firewood. The Canadian River drains the 
woody heights of New Mexico and Colorado. Daring freshets it brings 
down large quantities of trees, which it strews along its banks as the waters 
subside. Everywhere on the stream you will see the trees lying. Settlers 
go twenty miles and haul them out for fuel and other farm purposes. 
Very little firewood is needed, even in January, .except to cook with, 
although a fire in the open fire-places of the adobe buildings is pleasant in 
the evening. Before the advent of the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth 
Division of the Union Pacific System, the Canadian River banks were the 
source of supply for fuel on the upper reaches of the stream. Cottonwood 
groves are found on the river bottoms occasionally, even in Northern Texas, 
and occasionally other trees, giving evidence that trees would grow if they 
were planted, and prairie fires were kept out. Some streams have consid 
erable woOd upon them, but the Panhandle is a prairie country; and while 
I have no doubt that it will grow trees, as all prairie countries will, yet 
convenient timber for farm purposes in most instances is not to be had. It 
can be had inside of the State, which, in these days of dual jurisdiction in 
transportation matters, is a point worth noticing. Texas can control 
nearly all the transportation necessary to her people, independent of Inter- 
state Commerce. As near as I could learn, building lumber was selling in 
the upper Panhandle at about the same prices Iowa people pay at their 
railroad stations. The farmers of a prairie country can, and many do, 
grow their own fuel. But many will not, and the distance to the coal 
fields is one of interest. Coal has not been found in the Panhandle that I 
could hear of. It lies immediately northeast, in Kansas, from which State 
a railroad now runs up to connect near the center of the Panhandle with 
the Denver railroad. Coal in great abundance will also enter it from 
Trinidad, on the northwest; so that for all purposes to which coal can be 
put, it is practically as convenient as if within Texan borders. 

"The fuel question for this latitude is not to be compared in expense 
with snow-covered countries. Cold winds do extend down here, but their 
force is much lessened, and their continuance comparatively short. The 
great wood-piles and crammed coal-houses necessary to existence in north- 
ern latitudes are not needed here. People who dress in thin cotton 
clothing and live in tents, or houses built for summer convenience, get 
cold and suffer from it. Stock that have not enough to eat, and for a home 
only the shelter of a wire fence, suffer when the north wind blows, and die 
sometimes of low vitality. Climate will not take the place of woolens and 
beefsteak with a man, nor will it answer for fodder with a horse or cow; but 
northern clothing needs the help of but little artificial heat for man, and 
plenty of food would enable animals to weather any storm without anything 
further. 

" The primitive buildings made by the Mexicans were of sun-dried 
bricks, called 'adobe.' Open fire-places were all that were necessary for 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 29 

heating purposes. The settlers now going on to lands build according to 
their means. The most modest dwellings seen are simply cellars roofed 
over, with windows in the end. Families with very little capital can make 
a beginning. In early days in Iowa we got sod corn from the new 
prairies, and settlers in the Northwest lately have sown flax on the newly 
broken prairies. Wheat is sown on the newly broken prairie in the 
Panhandle, and something immediate is gotten to tide over with. This 
is not farming; but one can only admire the grit that attacks fortune 
this way; and no doubt the poor settler thus addressing himself to 
Mother Earth for shelter and food, is grateful for the blessings he receives. 
Some very grand Americans were raised in a similar manner. In old times 
it was the log house. In Dakota, it is the sod house. In Texas, it is the 
semi-cellar, because there are but few trees to make log houses, the sod is 
too mellow to make sod houses, and so the courageous settler does the next 
lust tiling. Seven years ago Mr. A. T. Boger, of Vernon, began this way. 
I saw the old house. Last year he took the premium at the State fair for 
the best farm exhibit. His family now live in a nice frame building. He 
is a supervisor or commissioner now of his county. His people honor him. 
I honor him. 

" Adobe buildings are comparatively expensive, and it requires the help 
of an expert to erect them. When any one is prepared now to go to the 
expense of an adobe building, the frame structure is preferred. So that style 
is going out of vogue. 

"There is a singular body of timber south of the Panhandle known 
as the 'Cross Timbers of TexasT' It extends across the State from 
south to north. It is ten to twelve miles wide, and is similar to our burr 
oak, where I saw it, and is suitable for fence posts It will supply a world 
of fencing material to the new settlers, as the Denver and Fort Worth road 
runs through it. The soil seems sandy in the 'Cross Timbers' but, sure 
enough, tin 1 fellow who was raised in a ' timbered country ' is there, grubbing 
out the trees. I suppose tho train would not stop to have these fools chased 
out, so they are there yet." 

FODDER. 

" The future of the Panhandle country depends upon its ability to fur- 
nish fodder, among other things. The wild grasses that now sustain 1,500 
head of cattle summer and winter, sometimes in an excellent, sometimes in 
an indifferent, way, would continue to do so in the future; but it is scarcely 
worth one's while to inquire into that. The soil is capable of sustaining a 
dense population, provided nothing prevents it from yielding sustenance for 
man and beast. To what extent 

" IT WILL YIELD 

Timothy, the clovers, or other cultivated grasses that flourish in latitudes 
farther north, has not been demonstrated. Within a year or two some trials 
have been made that have not been very successful. Whether the trials 
were fair, and so timed as to give the crops the advantage of the best 



30 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

months, is not known, as nobody yet knows what months are the best. It is 
not surprising that grass seeds sown in April or May of 1887, in Texas, should 
turn out a poor stand, as they almost utterly failed under like conditions in 
more northern States, where they are considered at home. It is interesting 
to note that the expedients to which Iowa farmers were compelled to resort 
during 1886 and 1887, when fodders were scarce, have been adopted by peo- 
ple in the Panhandle as their most reliable and regular fodders. Sorghum 
and millet grow vigorously in all counties I have visited, from the latitude 
of Southern Kansas to that of Fort Worth. The high altitude and low lati- 
tude of this locality present a combination of conditions peculiar to itself. 
Between 22 degrees and 37 degrees there is a long season of growing warm 
weather after mid-summer, when fodder crops can be sown, grown, matured, 
and harvested; and at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 feet the weather 
is comparatively moderate in which to work. Sorghum is said by all with 
whom I have talked to be a sure crop in a time of low average rainfall. I 
have examined the crop in different localities, and find that it is in excellent 
condition for fodder. Two hundred tons were grown on fifty acres on 
Buffalo Springs farm, within a mile of the neutral land strip, or No Man's 
Land, at an elevation of over 4,700 feet above the level of the sea. Similar 
reports come from all over the Panhandle. It is planted in rows, like, 
fodder corn, quite thickly, so as to secure a fine stalk. It is cut and 
bunched and cured so as to prevent souring, adding a little to the bunch 
as the curing process goes on. All kinds of animals eat the fodder eagerly, 
seed and butt, and thrive well upon it. If Northern Texas had no other 
fodder resource, this alone would enable the farmer on limited territory to 
provide for stock during the short winter and during a drouth in summer. 
I do not think that either Iowa or Texas farmers give this plant the atten- 
tion it deserves in seasons like the two past. It would help every steer on 
the ranges, no matter how wide his pasture. It would be a great help to 
the range calf during his first winter, to cows coming in, and to colts, and 
will no doubt come into general use. 

"SOME OTHER FODDERS. 

" Millet is also grown as a fall crop. Eighty tons grew on fifty acres on 
the farm where the sorghum I have spoken of was planted. It will make a 
crop if sown in the last days of August, as frosts rarely come before 
November, and are not heavy at any time as northern men understand 
frosts. However, the season for millet is over, of course, when frost stops 
its growth. Fall rains sufficient to sprout the seed regularly occur, I am 
told, and the best evidence of that is the presence of the millet. It has been 
tried as a spring crop with good results. It has not been irrigated, nor in- 
deed tried in any way generally but as a fall crop; but as such it gives great 
promise of ability to help change the Panhandle from a ranch country to a 
farming country. 

" Alfalfa grows vigorously in this region. Three crops were cut in the sea- 
son of 1887 without irrigation. The first trial was with the land in condition 
as it happened to be during the drouth of that year, and forty tons were cut 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 31 

from thirty acres. The stand was too thin, evidently, but alfalfa seems to 
take a vigorous hold on the soil. It sends down its roots deep in the soil, 
and is evidently at home. 

"This same farm had thirty acres of oats that for some reason were 
a very light crop. Only eight tons were cut. The land, Its condition, the 
time of sowing, or the kind of oats, or something, was wrong. The fodder 
wax very good, however, what there was of it. Seventy acres of corn-fodder 
were planted in rows, from which 210 tons were cut. When it was in tassel 
it was cut for fear the prevailing drouth would injure it. 

•■A farm in Buckley county, 200 miles from the north line of the State, 
reported 

"SIX HUNDRED BUSHELS OF CORN FROM TWENTY ACRES; 

In 1887, twenty-live tons of millet from thirty-five acres; one hundred 
tons of sorghum from fifty acres; eight acres of rice corn grew 216 
bushels. 

" The above farming was done by ranchmen, in spells when they could 
leave ranch work. The stock were first in estimation and farming operations 
second. Some of the tools were good, and some were middling. Nobody 
had any experience with crops, and few ranchmen can be induced to plant 
anything. 

"There is farm after farm in Iowa conducted with all the experience that 
a quarter of a century of familiarity with soil and season has given, that did 
no better in 1887 than the foregoing showing. One needs to be careful in 
speaking of a new country, incidentally, and the safest report is one con- 
sisting of facts. It is new to me to see cattle on a thousand hills live the 
year round on grass that never entirely loses its nourishing virtues, on soil 
that seems, from all that I can learn and observe, to be equal — much of it — 
to Iowa soil, in a climate that is as delightful in January as Iowa weather 
in June, where the growing season is long owing to its low latitude, and cool 
in summer owing to its high altitude: and I naturally inquire whether the 
conditions necessary to comfortable life are so favorable that men desiring 
homes in milder climates at cheap rates can live by cultivating small areas, 
and the requirements of a farm include fodders among other things. I 
think the. Panhandle will grow them. I inquired concerning 

EXPERIMENTS WITH TREE-GROWING. 

"The country here looks as Iowa looked thirty years ago, excepting the 
Iowa grove and the timber belts that skirted the streams. I asked for 
information respecting tree-planting of fifty men before I could hear of one 
attempt. The Buffalo Springs farm people have experimented with catal- 
pas, box elder, gray ash, black locust, alanthus, soft maples and black 
cherry. All have done well in the nursery except the black cherry, which 
utterly failed for some unknown reason, and the soft maple, which only did 
indifferently well. 

••The region is comparatively treeless, and it will be of the first interest 
to it to have tree-growing thoroughly tried. I have no doubt whatever that 



32 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

trees of many kinds will thrive well here. The two years' growth of those 
mentioned promises very well indeed. Last year they all made two-feet 
growths, and are living to the extreme buds. They will be planted out in place 
as soon as land can be prepared for them on the average uplands, and will 
determine for coming settlers what can be done in this direction. There is 
no question about the farmer's succeeding here — and that, too without irri- 
gation — who can go to the expense of boring for water or making cisterns, 
or who can get control of one of the springs or localities where water can 
be reached within a few feet, and there are many such. 

" Water for stock is the prime consideration on the table-lands; and yet 
I think it will cost Iowa farmers as much to get water on the divides for 
large herds as it will in the Panhandle of Texas. The country has plenty 
of water at distances ranging all the way from ten to three hundred feet. 
No systematic efforts that I could hear of have been made to get flowing 
wells in northern counties. One near the line of New Mexico was sunk 1,100 
feet; the water rose to within forty feet of the surface, and was rising as 
the boring went down, when the drill broke, and nobody here knows a way 
to get it out. 

"ABOUT GRASSES. 

"There are two southern grasses that deserve attention — the Bermuda 
and the Johnson. The Bermuda is said to occupy the same place in grazing 
economy in the South that blue grass has in the Northwestern States. It 
requires rich land to make hay, but the Johnson grass is the hay plant of 
low latitudes, as near as I can ascertain. It is said to be hard to kill when 
once it takes root, and on that account many speak of it with aversion. It 
sells at Fort Worth for twelve dollars a ton at present, and it is said to pro- 
duce so much to the acre, and can be cut so often in one season, that I hes- 
itate to give the stories. One thing I am sure of, if I were farming in the 
Panhandle I would devote a field to it. Hogs are said to live to some ex- 
tent on its roots. It ripens in the fall like a grain crop and is not a winter 
grazing crop. The farmer who successfully farms in low latitudes must 
study what nature attempts to grow, and improve upon that. Deep-rooting 
plants are nature's favorites here. The alfalfa goes down deep and has a 
large root. I believe the large red clover would also do well, but surface- 
rooting plants would have to contend with too much heat and too little 
moisture at times ; consequently I doubt if blue grass and white clover 
would succeed except on favoring locations. The southern farmer must 
find grasses to recuperate with; Until he determines what will improve 
upon the native grasses, he should be good to them and make the best of 
them. 

"Millions of acres have been ruined in the Gulf States by perpetual cot- 
ton-growing, just as wheat culture impoverished the northern valleys from 
the Geneseo to the Missouri. Graziers seeded them down and put on the 
cow, the sheep and the mare, and the land kindly returned to good heart 
and smiled again. The southern farmer is passing through a transition 
state. A consideration of the cotton-grower is foreign to this series of top- 
ics. He is moving westward, leaving barren fields behind him. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 33 

"THE TEXAS CATTLE MEN 

In thr Panhandle are making beef under different circumstances from what 
existed a few years ago. Then they had free and abundant range. Now 
they pay rent to the State for their school lands. Heavier stocking has 
made it more difficull to pasture, and required fences to include great 
pastures, and wells to furnish water. The ranchmen are not excused from 
herding, although barbed wire fences have been erected. Men on ponies 
must ride the fences every day. The cat tie break them often. These things 
make beef-raising on the ranch more expensive than formerly, while the beef 
brings far less, owing to the crisis through which the ranch is passing. The 
farmer is taking the place of the ranchman gradually. Long-horned steers 
may be tolerated where land has scarcely a value, but when it rises a very 
little in value, the Long-Horn will not pay interest. I think it would be 
luckless for this new country if exclusive grain-raisers should settle it. 
There are considerable portions that are only suitable for grazing — sandy 
stretches, gravelly sections, and the vicinity of rivers and creeks. The rich 
black, red, and brown levels that comprise a major part of the Panhandle 
country are a permanent soil. JAMES WILSON, 

'•Tama County, Iowa." 

RESIDENT TESTIMONY. 

Hon. .1. D, Murdock of Clarendon says: " I own a farm seven miles from 
Clarendon. Oats sown in February made 40 to 45 bushels per acre; millet 
sown in April produced 2% tons per acre; sorghum planted in May produced 
to 8 tons of fodder per acre. Sorghum ripens well. I have nised 20 
bushels of seed per acre. Milo-maize grows 11 feet high, and yields 25 
bushels of grain per acre, which is equal to Indian corn for fattening horses, 
hogs, or chickens. Drilled in rows 4 feet apart, a peck of seed to the acre 
planted in July, Milo-maize made me 8 tons of fodder per acre, equal for 
feeding to the best of hay. Egyptian corn yields 20 bushels to the acre, 
planted May 1st. Sweet potatoes make a large crop, specimens weighing 
from 5 to 7*4 pounds each. Onions, pumpkins, squash, melons, cucumbers, 
peas, beans, and beets grow a large crop." 

S. Morris, living in Wheeler county, near Fort Elliott, in the Panhandle, 
and about fifty miles north of Clarendon, says: "We raise 40 to 50 bushels 
to the acre. Never measured my sweet potatoes, but the yield is large, 
an<l size large, averaging 2 pounds each. Have made two crops of sorghum 
fodder in a year, cutting 3 tons each time. We have peach and plum trees 
old enongh to bear, and yield well; apples and pears are growing well, but 
not old enough to bear yet. Irish potatoes make about 150 bushels to the 
acre, and are ripe about July 1st. I have fed and fattened cattle on sor- 
ghum, and think the feeding and fattening of cattle will play out grazing, 
as more profitable." 

Mr. Craves, of Epworth. Bale county, came from Albany, N. Y., five years 
ago. He purchased a piece of prairie land, and put a portion of it under 
cultivation. His net cash profit, from the 40 acres he broke, after inclucl- 
3 Texas 



34 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

ing his living expenses for his family, in the shape of food, fuel, etc., was 
for the first year, $475; the second year's crop, under similar conditions as 
to living expenses, with 65 acres under the plow, netted him $980; the 
third year, with 50 acres under cultivation, netted him $1,500; while for the 
present year, with 50 acres under cultivation, he has fair promise of an 
equal return for his labor. Mr. Graves states that the soil was easily 
worked after being' broken the first time, and that there could be no ques- 
tion about the great richness and value of the lands in the Panhandle for 
agricultural purposes. 

In 1882, Mr. A. T. Boger went to Wilbarger county, within six miles of 
where Vernon now stands, with a span of mules, a wagon, his wife, two 
baliies. and $150 in money, and commenced life in a dugout. In 1887, with 
his own labor, except extra help in harvest and threshing time, he raised 
500 bushels of wheat, averaging 33 bushels per acre; 3,500 bushels of oats, 
averaging 60 bushels to the acre; 1,700 bushels of corn, from 35 acres; 20 tons 
of millet, from 11 acres, and 115 bushels of sweet potatoes. Besides this, 
he had hogs, chickens, butter, and vegetables to use and sell. In the year 
1885, which was a very fruitful year, he had a better crop still. He has now 
a good house of five rooms, a barn, outbuildings, a well, 800 acres tinder 
fence, a good young orchard, and owes no man anything. 

In 1888, Mr. Boger, with the labor of a boy sixteen years old, raised 
10,000 bushels of grain, the wheat averaging 35 bushels per acre, the oats 85 
bushels, and the corn 35 bushels. This is the greatest amount of grain ever 
produced in one season, by two pair of hands, upon the face of the earth. 
All this happened in the great Panhandle country ! Mr. Boger is a native 
of ^Torthero Georgia, and is not afraid to work. 

William Dick, Newport, Clay county, raised 240 bushels of peanuts per 
acre. 

W. C. Wilson in the same neighborhood raised 500 bushels of sweet 
potatoes and 400 bushels of Irish potatoes to the acre. 

C. C. Horn, Esq., resides two and a half miles from Wichita Falls, 
Wichita county, Texas, and is sixty-three years old. He cultivated sod 
ground with the following result: 14 acres of corn, 480 bushels; 75 acres of 
wheat, 1,500 bushels; 42 acres of oats, 2,500 bushels; 3 acres of sorghum, 8 
tons; )4 acre Egyptian corn, 25 bushels; 1 acre of rye, 15 bushels; on Kacre 
of melons he had thousands. He had two horses and hired help to the 
amount of $57.50. 

J. Q. Morrison, Wichita Falls, states that he has examined the crops 
raised by Mr. Horn and estimates the yield of wheat at 25 bushels and oats 
at 75 bushels per acre. 

H. J. Stanley, residing one mile south of Harrold, Wilbarger county, 
Texas, purchased 640 acres in July, 1887. He planted 100 acres in wheat, 
which yielded 2,100 bushels; 100 acres in oats, 5,500 bushels; 55 acres in 
millet and sorghum, 600 bushels of millet and 40 tons of hay; 60 acres of 
corn, about 1,500 bushels. He had the help of two men. He reports the 
amount realized as follows: Wheat, $1,380: oats, $1,375; millet seed, $450; 
hay, $400; corn, $750; sorghum, $150; total from sod ground, $4,505. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

McArthur Bros., six miles southwest of Vernon, have 750 bushels of win mi 
From 25 acres, and 2,860 bushels of oats from 25 acres. 

Columbus Waller, residing three miles from Wichita Falls, raised on 93 
acres of sod laud. 2,737 bushels of wheal -:.".i'.. bushels per acre. 

J. Miller, residing near Doan's postoffice, Wilbarger county, raised :;., 
bushels of wheat per acre. 

The oats crop Of A. T. Bayner, same, place, ran 50 bushels to the, aire 
The average fur wheat has been 21 bushels, oats 30 bushels, millet 2 tons, 
sorghum 4 tons per acre. 

M.J. McDonald, four miles from Quanah, Hardeman county, raised 
bushels of wheat on loo acres — 28H bushels to the acre; and 3,450 bushels 
of oats on 7.") acres — 4f> bushels to the acre. 

J. S. Harper, living five miles east of Quanah, raised :.' + '.; bushels of 
wheat per acre on 40 acres, W. J. Good & Son report 1 1 , T ^ tons Johnson 
grass per acre. James Killigrew, 26 bushels of wheat per acre. Rev. W. 1). 
Wear, 2i}4 bushels of wheat per acre. William Hunter, 26 bushels of wheat 
per acre. 

In 1888 Wilbarger was the frontier wheat county: in 1889-90 it is Harde- 
man; next year it, will be Childress county; and so the wheat heir is moving 
on toward the northwest. 

The expense and profit of opening up 160 acres of land in the center of 
this wheat belt, have been figured out as follows: Good average land costs 
per acre, $6.00; breaking same, $2.00; seed-wheat, $1.00; putting in. $1.00; 
cutting and threshing, $2:00; marketing, $1.00. Total cost of land and crop 
for first year, $13.00 per acre. Average wheat crop, 25 bushels: average price 
received this year (1889), 80 cents. Results of first year, $20.00 per acre, 
leaving net earnings, covering the cost of the land, $4.00 per acre. 

The following reports from farmers show the crop results in Wichita 
county for 18S9: — 

J. Reed, living three miles north of Wichita Falls, made 902 bushels off 
from 28 acres of land, — an average of 32 bushels per acre. 

J. G. Hardin (from Crockett county, Tenn.), whose farm is ten miles 
from Wichita, Palls, made an average of 27 bushels per acre. 

M. Dodson (from White county, Tenn.), who lives ten miles from Wichita 
Falls, made 3:3 bushels and .", picks per acre. 

S. P. Hawkins (from Crockett county, Tenn.), whose farm is on Red 
River, ten miles from Wichita Falls, had in 44 acres, and harvested 1,350 
bushels, making an average of 29 bushels per acre. 

F. W. Longbine (from Missouri), also of Red River Valley, made 25 
bushels per acre on 30 acres of land. 

E. Rexford (from Illinois), living nine miles from Wichita Falls, garnered 
1,128 bushels off 40 acres, making an average of 28% bushels \trv acre. 

B. F. Willis (from Illinois), of Gilbert Creek, harvested 840 bushels 
from 30 acres of land, making an average of 28 bushels per acre. 

J. S. Moody (from Arkansas), an old man 57 years old, living three 
miles from Wichita Falls, with but little hired help, cultivated about loo 
acres of laud. From 40 acres he threshed, by actual measurement, 1,380 



36 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

bushels of wheat, an average of 34)4 bushels to the acre. He also had 35 
acres in oats and 35 acres in corn, which made 60 bushels to the acre of the 
former and 50 bushels of the latter. 

W. H. Hazzard (from Missouri), of Gilbert Creek, sowed 23 bushels of 
wheat and harvested 705 bushels. 

F. M. Davis (from Alabama), sheriff of the county, made 1,500 bushels 
of wheat on 50 acres of ground. 

J. H. Barwise (from St. Charles county, Mo.), postoffice address, Wichita 
Falls, had in cultivation 270 acres; 160 acres in wheat, average 21 bushels 
to the acre; in corn 60- acres, average of 35 bushels to the acre; oats 30 acres, 
average 40 bushels to the acre; spring barley 10 acres, average 20 bushels to 
the acre; sorghum 10 acres, cut twice for feed, yield 80 tons. 

D. J. Calkins (from Muskingum county, Ohio) who lives five miles south — 
address, Wichita Falls — has 100 acres in corn, average 40 bushels to the 
acre. 

U. R. Evans (from Jefferson county, N. Y.), lives one mile from town — 
address, Wichita Falls. Has 27 acras in wheat, which made 29 bushels to 
the acre. 

B. F. Hooks (from Iowa), who lives 12 miles from Wichita Falls, came 
to the county late in the fall of 1888, and did not get his ground ready until 
December. He broke and put in 45 acres, however, and threshed out 800 
bushels of wheat as the result of his labors. 

A. A. Parmer (formerly from Missouri), who has a large farm, had this 
year 700 acres of ground in cultivation, as follows: 120 acres in wheat, from 
which he realized 2,500 bushels; 275 acres in oats, from which he made 
10,000 bushels; 60 acres in corn, from which he made 2,000 bushels; and 225 
acres in sorghum, from which he cut 1,000 tons. The gross proceeds of his 
crop were $7,000, his expenses were $1,500, and his net proceeds $5,500. 
His land cost him about $4 per acre. 

Ed. Wilson (formerly from Illinois) had an average wheat yield of 32 
bushels to the acre; lives one mile from Wichita Falls. 

T. M. Bingham (formerly from Nunan, Ga.), has 150 acres in culti- 
vation; wheat averaged 26 bushels to the acre, corn 35 bushels, and oats 40. 

Ed. Roe, six miles from Wichita Falls (from Missouri); corn, 45 bushels to 
the acre; wheat, 28; oats, 42. 

W. C. Heath (from Dallas county, Tex.); 600 acres in cultivation two 
and a half miles from Wichita Falls; wheat averaged 29 bushels; oats, 45; 
corn, 40. 

A. Dickinson (from New York State) lives two and a half miles from 
town; wheat, 27 bushels to the acre; oats, 42. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 37 

FRUIT CULTURE. 

Fruit culture promises to become a leading and important industry in 
the lower Panhandle country. Last year (1889) over $3(50,000 worth of 
peaches, apricots, apples, pears, plums and grapes have found a market, 
largely in Colorado, from the counties of Wise, Montague, and Clay. Low 
rates of express and fast freight give this locality great advantage over 
Southern California, and will in a short time drive every other fruit-pro- 
ducing section out of that market. 

Peaclies. — In no section of the United States do peaches bear a larger 
and liner average crop than in the counties between Ft. Worth and Wichita 
Falls. In size they are remarkable, some measuring 11)4 inches in circum- 
ference. In flavor they are superior to anything grown in California. 

Apple* ami Pear*. — These fruits are promising remarkably well in every 
county north of Ft. Worth where they have been planted. The trees are 
as yet too young to speak positively of the yield, but for quality and flavor 
they now compare favorably with other sections where they arc a staple 
crop. 

Plums. — This is the native home of the Chickasaw Plum, which grows 
luxuriously and bears abundantly. 

Grapes. — All varieties of grapes grow well and yield enormously, includ- 
ing the American varieties. Hybrids and foreign varieties, the latter only 
requiring slight winter protection, just as they do at Messilla and Las 
duces. Xew Mexico, and Pasa del Norte, Mexico, now famous for grape 
culture. 

Vegetables. — All kinds of garden vegetables are cultivated, and produce 
abundantly without fail. The entire country traversed by this line of rail- 
way will without doubt become the great market-gardening section for sup- 
plying the markets of Colorado and the mining regions with early vege- 
tables, particularly root crops and melons. 

Sweet Potatoes. — There have been grown as high as 350 bushels of sweet 
potatoes to the acre in Clay county, which may be considered the center of 
the best potato region. Good crops have been grown as far north as 
Wheeler county. 

STOCK-RAISING. 

It is almost superfluous to speak of the prospects for stock-raising in the 
famous Staked Plains of Texas. A report giving statistics for twelve years 
Of the Cla'.cago live stock trade, and published in February. 1890, will give 
the ready" some idea of the immense number of cattle sent from Texas to 
one citv alone. 



38 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

MONTHLY RECEIPTS OF RANGE CATTLE FOR NINE YEARS. 



Months. 



J-uary j »££« 

™*uar y j "ESS! 

v .„i ) Hangers 

March JTexfns. 

J Rangers 

i rn„„, 



/ Texan s. 
j Rangers 
| Texans. 



April 
Miiy . . . 

June 

Jwly ... 
August. 
September. 
October 



I 

j Hangers 
| Texans. 
J Rangers 
J Texans. 
j Rangers 
' Texans 



/ Texans 
* Hangers. 
' | Texans. 

November {*£««. 

December j g«g«- 



Total for 
lire fear - 



I Rangers 
j Texans. 



1889. 



1,924 



1,975 



7,992 



33,242 



69,(514 

4,090 

88,843 

13,651 

95,238 

55,240 

90,605 

67,100 

115,30' 

18,415 

77,342 

1,900 

31,215 



100.396 
616.757 



isss. 



528 
7,215 



4,100 



3,942 

468 

8,145 

694 

34,895 

335 

67,482 

1,81 

91,570 

21,250 

96,200 

91,334 

64,385 

100,258 

63,251 

36,515 

68,210 

6,310 

38,390 



369,509 
547,185 



IS',", 



3,521 



1,78 



2,945 



6,124 

24,774 

53,500 
994 
69,500 
12,490 
92,130 
67,224 
63,201) 
101,3: 
61,120 
67,145 
54,274 
12,100 
52,600 



ISSfi. 



2,720 

320 

1,940 



5,62(1 

1,410 

11,050 

445 

38,440 
8,116 
56,926 
30,800 
55,330 
71,460 
43.106 
84,724 
49,915 
39,520 
33.028 
3,900 
21,160 



261.275 840,695 
485,5281 320.8311 



1885. 



2,056 



960 



560 

342 

1,064 

1,080 

3,662 



36,786 

1,364 

49,300 

26,420 
69.440 
65,525 
49,460 
76.144 
41.552 
28,220 
29.240 
2,945 
14,121 



202.040 
298,188 



1884. 



8S0 



3,450 



4,280 



6,640 



4,240 
71,940 
27,855 
60,681 
56,343 
48,523 
90,636 
50,800 
51,240 
02,00(1 

1,420 
18,040 



231.734 
357,574 



1S83. 



106 



281 



4,360 



20,100 
2,250 
48,900 
21,080 
46,200 
53.130 
25.740 
74,950 
55,140 
24,320 
41,580 
950 
13,690 



1882. 



20 



2S0 



500 



1,1 



28,500 
1,900 
67,540 
13,400 
76,140 
32,340 
56,700 
69,440 
44,420 
77,100 
32,910 
24,420 
33,390 
2,100 
3,920 



176,680 220,700 
256,340 346,300 



12,500 
6,100 
40,000 
33,900 
41,000 
56,340 
22,800 
72,040 
9,300 
22,360 
16,340 
2,800 
6,160 



193,540 
148,100 



Mr. Wilson, in his admirable letters before mentioned, pointed out that 
the reign of the cow-boy would be shortened, and his prediction is verified 
to-day. The results which have obtained in Wyoming and Colorado are 
reappearing in the Panhandle country. The number of cattle kings 
diminishes yearly, and the. herds of stock are becoming smaller and more 
equally distributed among the population. The stock interests, instead of 
remaining in the hands of the few, now become an adjunct to the farm, and 
not the governing industry of the country. The great cattle ranges are 
being broken up into farms, and their number grows less every year. 

The fertile plains where grow perennial grasses skirted by living streams 
of good water, and bordered by storm-sheltering forests, make this State of 
"magnificent distances'' and cheapest lands, the State of all States for the 
stock-raiser. The recent offieial report shows a return as follows: 
1,229,090 head of horses and mules, valued at $33,166,338; of cattle, 
7,081,976 head, valued at $.51,008,550; of sheep and goats, 4,878,801 head, 
valued at $5,601,280; of hogs, 1,040,929 head, valued at $1,241,655. 

Cattle are now valued at from $6 to $15 per head, and lands are leased at 
merely nominal figures of a few, cents; and where it costs so little to feed 
and herd them, it takes but little to rear and flesh a beef for the ea !":; 
markets. The Long-Horns of Texas, however, are being rapidly br^d out by 
the infusion of the Durham and Devonshire blood, and the dairy interests 
will soon succeed to prairie pastures, and model farms and creameries will 
keep Texas cotton seed, corn, oats, and hay at home. 

If there is a clear profit in the East in raising cattle on land worth 
anywhere from $60 to $150 per acre, there is certainly a "small margin" in 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

a stock farm in the Panhandle country, where land can be had for from #2 
to $5 per acre, where no barns are necessary, where food Is cheap, and 

where there is no bail weather. 

Horses and Mules. — Horses and mules can be raised profitably anywhere 
on the line of the Panhandle Route, between Ft. Worth. Texas, and the 
Colorado line. The central and upper portion of the Panhandle country is 
best adapted for pasturing and fodder-raising, while the land is at present 
much cheaper than farther south, hence will offer the besl inducements to 
those wishing to engage in stock culture Bermuda mass will, without 
doubt, take the place of the native wild grasses, being adapted to the alti- 
tude ami climate, and will endure close grazing and heavy trampling with- 
out being killed out. 

Blooded stork. — What has been said of horses and mules will apply 
equally well to blooded stock of every kind. 

DAIRYING. 

This industry offers superior inducements to all who will embark in it. 
The markets are good, and the product will always command the highest 
prices, whether sent to the mountain region of Colorado or to the seaports 
on the Gulf Coast. Potter county is now considered a remarkably line 
county for dairying. It is also profitably conducted in the older settled 
counties contiguous to Ft. Worth and the cities of the South. 

LANDS AND LAND LAWS. 

Sn much has been said of the great agricultural resources of the 
Panhandle country of Texas, a region 450 miles in extent, stretching from 
Fort Worth to Texline, that many seem to have lost sight of the fact that 
it is one of the most inviting fields in America for successful invest- 
ment. 

While it is true that it is the best wheat country in the United States. 
and one of the best, if not the best all around, farming regions, it is equally 
a splendid place for investments. Large profits can be made in lands, 
town sites, town lots, in building mills and elevators and in establishing 
banks. Lands in the lasl two years have made an advance on an average 
of 100 per cent, while in some counties, such as Wichita and Hardeman, 
lands have advanced even 200 per cent. Investments in towns have done 
equally as well. Perhaps town property on the line of the Panhandle Route 
has advanced in two years as much as 200 per cent, some towns like 
Quanah, Claude, Childress, Salisbury, and Amarillo, scoring from 200 to 500 
per cent advance. We know of no reason why the saint country does not 
offer the same inducements to investors for the year 1890. 

One thing can be said in its favor, — prices are yet low for 
good farming lands. Good lands can yet be bought at from $3.00 to 
.910.00 per acre, according to location. [In the '• Description of Com 
the reader will find the price of land in each county. J 



40 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

These lands are owned by the State of Texas, and may be purchased for 
homesteads by actual settlers on forty years' time, with interest at five per 
cent, at from $2 to $3 per acre 

Here is an empire in extent in which are, as yet, millions of acres of 
cheap land that will respond to every effort. The climate is all that could 
be desired— no long, cold winters. The average altitude being some three 
thousand feet above the sea, makes it a country of extreme healthfuiness. 
Consumption and kindred diseases do not originate here. It is above the 
zone of yellow fever, and malaria is unknown. It is destined to become the 
home of a healthy, hardy race of people, and that which is true of the 
human race applies equally well to the health of all domestic animals. 
There are springs of pure, clear water, and living streams for those who 
first occupy the beautiful land where flowers bloom perennially, and the 
grass lives through the entire year. Is this the kind of a home you seek? 
If you do, there is danger in delay. This beautiful land is awaiting occu- 
pation to-day, but will not be vacant many months. 

Aside from the adaptability of these lands for agricultural purposes, 
there is a mild climate throughout the entire year, where farmers are not, 
from necessity, compelled to expend the whole earnings of the summer to 
provide for the necessities of the winter. There are transportation facili- 
ties affording advantages with reference to established and permanent mar- 
kets, where both the cost of production and consumption are much reduced, 
when compared with that of the older-settled States between the lakes and 
the Missouri River, and where the great questions of lumber and fuel sup- 
ply are solved, whereby the coal fields of Colorado and the pine forests of 
Southeastern Texas, are rendered accessible at reasonable cost. 

The history of the pioneer farmers who settled and developed the great 
country west of the Mississippi River, in acquiring lands at two or three 
dollars per acre, and having them enhanced ten and twenty fold within a 
few years, thus creating wealth while enjoying the comforts of a life of 
industry, will be repeated in this new field, and with quicker results than 
have ever been realized in the past. 

The person who seeks a home in the Panhandle, and expects to find it a 
paradise without effort on his part, will be disappointed here, as elsewhere. 
Neither should the man who has nothing but his own energy and muscle to 
depend upon, expect to realize the full extent of his hopes. " To him that 
hath shall be given " is as true to-day as it was eighteen hundred years ago, 
even though his possessions be limited in extent. 

It is essential to the fullest measure of success in this, as in any new 
country, that a man have at least supplies to carry him through one season, 
while he is learning to adapt his previous farming experience to the differ- 
ent requirements of this climate. He should have good teams, a few cows, 
and sufficient means to acquire his land and build his home, no matter how 
humble. For the man whose condition is such, there is no reason for a 
moment's hesitation. Stock farming — which means some attention to stock 
in connection with crops — is the true method of agriculture in the Panhandle 
of Texas. The man who has the good judgment to agree with this idea, 
and the intelligence to (understand the conditions of the climate and 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 41 

resources of the soil, can And no fairer field in the entire universe. That 
man will in a very few years have an independent income, a lordly estate, 
increasing herds and Mocks, waving fields of golden grain, bursting grana- 
ries, blooming orchards, convenient markets that can never be overstocked, 
and a home of happiness and contentment which he has had the satisfaction 
of arranging for himself. 

Where there are a number of families in a neighborhood who desire to 
emigrate to a new country, they should organize into a colony, and settle to- 
gether. By this method they take with them an acquaintanceship, and will 
he thus enabled to hold together and carry their peculiar views in regard 
to church and school management. In a financial way, colony organiza- 
tions can procure concessions and inducements from owners of town sitesor 
large bodies of land, who will often make large donations for special pur- 
poses to secure their location, and thus assist in a more rapid development 
of the adjoining country. This is even more important to the colonists 
themselves, as it gives them a settled community at once, where otherwise 
it would require years. General R. A. Cameron, Commissioner of Emigra- 
tion, Ft. Worth, has had a large and varied experience in colonization, and 
is ready to assist any people who desire to form colony organizations, and 
explain the best methods of conducting them. 

The following is a digest of the Public Land laws of the State of Texas: — 

PUBLIC LANDS. 

Under this head is included all the lands owned by the State or held in 
trust for any of its public institutions. 

UNAPPROPRIATED PUBLIC DOMAIN. 

There are about 5,000.000 acres of unappropriated public domain belong- 
ing to the State. This land may be acquired by the provisions of the law re- 
lating to homestead donations. . 

HOMESTEAD DONATIONS. 

How Acquired. — Every head of a family without a homestead shall be 
entitled to receive a donation from the State of 160 acres of vacant, unap- 
propriated public land, and every single man of the age of 18 years or up- 
wards shall be entitled to receive from the S.tate 80 acres of vacant and un- 
appropriated public land. The applicant must apply to the surveyor of the 
district or county in which the land is situated, in writing, designating the 
land he claims, stating that he claims the same for himself in good faith, 
etc.. that he is without any homestead of his own, that he has actually 
settled on the land, etc., and that he believes the same to be vacant and 
unappropriated public domain. The survey to be made within twelve 
months after date of application. When the terms of the law have been 
complied with, and proof of such fact, together with the proof of three years' 
continuous occupancy, is filed with the Commissioner of the General Land 
Office, patent will issue to the claimant or his assignee. (Title LXXIX, ch. 
9. Revised Statutes.) 



42 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

APPROPRIATED PUBLIC LANDS OF NOT MORE THAN 640 ACRES 
IN ORGANIZED COUNTIES. 

Hoav Acquired. — By virtue of an act passed March 29, 1887, and 
amended April 5, 1889, "To provide for the sale of such appropriated public 
lands situated in organized counties as contain not more than 040 acres," it 
is provided that any person desiring to purchase any of such appropriated 
lands situated in any of the organized counties of the State as contain not 
more than 640 acres, appropriated by an act to provide for the sale of a 
portion of the unappropriated public land, etc., approved July 14, 1879, may 
do so by causing the same to be surveyed by the surveyor of the county in 
which the land is situated. The person desiring to purchase shall make 
application in writing, describing the land by reference to surrounding sur- 
veys. The land must be surveyed within three months from date of applica- 
tion; and within sixty days after said survey the surveyor shall certify 
record, and map the same in his office, and within said sixty days return the 
same to the General Land Office, together with the application. Within 
ninety days after the return to and filing in the General Land Office the 
applicant must pay into the State Treasury the purchase money at the rate 
of two dollars per acre; patent to be issued by the Commissioner of the 
General Land Office when the Treasurer's receipt is filed in his office. 
Failure to make the payment within ninety days forfeits the right to pur- 
chase, and the applicant cannot afterward purchase under the act. 
(Chapter 80, Acts of Twentieth Legislature, pp. 61 and 62.) 

COMMON-SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY, AND ASYLUM LANDS. 

The act of April 1, 1887, and the act amendatory thereof of April 8, 1889, 
provide for the sale of all lands heretofore or hereafter surveyed and set 
apart for the benefit of the public free schools, the university, and the sev- 
eral asylums, amounting in all to about 30,000,000 acres. 

Classification. — All lands under this head must be classified by the 
Commissioner of the General Land Office into agricultural, pasture, and 
timber lands, and valued according to classification before being placed on 
the market. When classified and valued, the Land Commissioner is required 
to notify the county clerks of the counties where the lands are situated, of 
the value of each section of land offered for sale in their respective counties 
and counties attached for judicial purposes, which notification said clerks 
must keep on record for public inspection. 

To Whom and in What Quantities Sold. — Lands classified as agricult- 
ural are sold to actual settlers only, in quantities of not less than 80, and in 
multiples thereof, not more than 640 acres, provided that where there is a 
fraction of less than 80 acres of any section left, such fraction may be sold. 
Where two quarter sections are purchased they must constitute a given half 
of some section. Lands classified as purely pasture lands and without per- 
manent water thereon may be sold in quantities not to exceed four sections 
to the same person. Parts of two sections cannot be purchased without 
taking the whole of one section. No sales are made to a corporation, foreign 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 43 

or domestic, and all sales to a settler arc made on express condition that any 
sale, transfer, or conveyance of such land to a corporation, either immedi- 
ate or remote, shall ipso fti<-i<> terminate the title of the purchaser and for- 
Felt the laud to the State. No watered portion of any section shall be sold 
unless there is permanent, water on or bordering on the part of section 
remaining unsold. 

Minimum Price of Land. — The minimum price of lands sold under 
this act Is $2 per acre. Lands having permanent water thereon or border- 
ing thereon are sold at not less than $3 per acre. Timbered lands are I 
at not less than $5 per acre. By timbered lands is meant lands chiefly 
valuable for the timber thereon. The timber on such lands may' also be 
sold at the discretion of the Commissioner of the General Land Office for $5 
per acre cash, except [where land is sparsely timbered, then for not less 
than $2 per acre, the purchaser to have five years from the date of purchase 
to remove the timber therefrom, after which, if not removed, it reverts to 
the State without judicial ascertainment. - 

Terms of Sale. — Agricultural and pasture lands are sold on 40 years' 
time at 5 per cent per annum interest. One-fortieth of the aggregate pur- 
chase money must be paid in advance, and an obligation duly executed, 
binding the purchaser to pay to the State Treasurer, on the first day of 
August each year thereafter, until the whole is paid, one-fortieth of the 
purchase money and the interest on the whole of the unpaid purchase 
money. Within one year next after the expiration of three years' residence on 
the land the purchaser must make proof by his own affidavit, corroborated 
by the affidavits of three disinterested and credible citizens of the county, 
certified to by some officer of the court, that he has resided on the land 
three years. Upon receipt of the fortieth payment by the Treasurer, and 
the affidavit and obligation required to be filed with the application for the 
land, the sale is held effective. 

All purchasers have the option of paying in full after they have resided 
on their lands three consecutive years, proof of which must be furnished the 
Commissioner of the General Land Office. Purchasers may sell their lands 
any time after three years, the vendee or subsequent vendees to become sub- 
ject to all the conditions of sale to the original purchaser. 

If the interest due on the first day of August of any year is unpaid, the 
purchaser shall have until the first day of January thereafter to pay said 
interest, and for said default shall pay fifty per cent penalty on said inter- 
est past due. Failure to pay said past due interest and penalty on or before 
the said firstday of January of any year, works a forfeiture of the land without 
the necessity of re-entry or judicial ascertainment, except where the pur- 
chaser dies, in which event his heirs have one year after the first day of 
August next after such death in which to make payment. 

Timbered lands are sold for cash. 

Applications for Land. — All applications for the purchase of land 
must be forwarded to the Commissioner of the General Land Office, at 
Austin, accompanied by an affidavit stating in effect that the applicant 
desires the land for a home, and has in good faith settled thereon, that iie 



44 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

is not acting in collusion with others, for the purpose of buying the land for 
any other person or corporation, and that no other person or corporation is 
interested in the purchase save himself 

Leases. — The Commissioner of the Land Office may, at his discretion, 
lease any of the public lands not in demand for actual settlement, for a 
period of not over five years, at four cents per acre per annum in advance. 

Applications to Lease. — Applications to lease shall be made in writ- 
ing to the Commissioner of the Land Office, and shall specify and describe 
the land desired. If satisfied that it is not detrimental to the public 
interest, the Commissioner may execute under his hand and seal, and deliver 
to the lessee, a lease for the time agreed upon of any land applied for. 

Conditions of Lease. — Grazing lands are not subject to sale during 
the term of the lease. Lands classified as agricultural shall be leased 
subject to sale, the lessee to give immediate possession when such lands are 
sold, and allowed a pro rata credit upon his next year's rent, or the money 
refunded to him by the Treasurer, as he may elect; provided that no such 
sale shall be effected of a section where the lessee has placed improvements 
of the value of $100 thereon; and, provided further, that no actual settler 
purchasing land within a leasehold shall be permitted to turn loose therein 
more than one head of cattle or horses for every ten acres of land pur- 
chased by him and enclosed, or in lieu thereof four head of sheep or goats. 
Each violation of this proviso subjects the violator to a fine of one dollar 
for each head of stock so turned loose, and each thirty days' violation con- 
stitutes a separate offense. 

Failure to pay the annua! rent due for any year within sixty days after 
the same shall have become due, subjects the lessee to forfeiture at the 
discretion of the Land Commissioner. The State retains a lien upon all 
improvements on leased land to secure payment of rents. Leaseholds are 
exempt from taxation. 

Unlawful, Use. — It is unlawful for any person to fence, use, occupy, 
or appropriate by herding, line-riding, or other means, any portion of the 
public lands, and the Attorney-General is authorized to bring suit for the 
recovery of such land, and damages for its use and occupation, and such 
suits may be brought in the District Court of Travis county. 

Gateavays. — Fences on grazing lands must not be constructed for more 
than three miles lineal measure running in the same general direction; with- 
out a gateway in the same. 

Issuance of Patents, Fees, Etc. — Patents to lands are issued by the 
Commissioner of the General Land Office when the receipt of the State 
Treasurer (to whom all payments are made) for all payments due on the 
land is presented at the Land Office and the patent fees thereon paid. 

Patent Fees are as Follows: — 

320 acres of land or less $5 00 

Over 320 acres of land and up to 640 acres 6 00 

Over 640 and up to 1,280 acres 10 00 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



45 



Over 1,280 acres and up to one-third of a league $12 50 

Over one-third of a league and up to one league and labor 15 00 

One league and labor 20 00 

Each set of field notes filed for less than one league and labor 1 00 

Eaeh set of field notes filed for more than one league and labor 2 00 

Location of School. Lands. — The number of acres of school lands 
located in each comity is Riven in connection with the Statistics of the coun- 
ties, and represents the amount of unsold public school land in the county 
July 4, 1888. 

County School Lands. — Four leagues of school land have been set apart 
for each county in the State, to be used for educational purposes. Said 
lands are in the control of the commissioners' courts of the several counties, 
to whom purchasers should apply. Many counties have already leased or 
sold their lands. 

Blank Applications to Purchase or Lease Lands. — Any person 
desiring to purchase or lease public lands can procure blank applications 
suitable for each class of land for sale or lease by applying to the Commis- 
sioner of the General Land Office at Austin. 

Spanish Land Measurement.— Divisions of land in this State are made 
according to Spanish land measurement, by varas, labors, and leagues, and 
distances are given In linear varas. 

1 vara 33X inches. 

1 acre 5,646 square varas=4,840 square yards. 

1 labor 1,000,000 square varas=177 acres. 

X league 8,333,333 square varas=l,476 acres. 

1 league 25,000,000 square varas=4,428 acres. 

1 league and labor, 26,000,000 square varas=4,605 acres. 
To find the number of acres in a given number of square varas, divide 
by 5,646. 

There remain unsold of school lands in the State 981,760 acres, and 
of university lands unsold 2,098,578 acres. 

The following is a list of unsold common school lands in some of the 
Panhandle counties: — 



Armstrong 239,797 

Archer 64,160 

Bavlor 58,161) 

Briscoe 239,967 

Crosby 140.480 

Castro 190,780 

Childress 220,640 

Collingsworth 286,080 

Cuttle 118,080 

Clay 480 

Dallam 171,726. 

Deaf smith 261 1,480 

Doulev 228,460 

Floyd 299,621 1 

Gray 174,400 

Hartley 170,880 

Hardeman 250,560 

Hale 297,600 

Handsford 271,860 

Uall 237,400 



Jack 22,597 

Knox 96,960 

Labbock 233,560 

Lamb 22,440 

Moore 284,480 

Motley 285,120 

Montague 4,979 

Oldham.... 156,160 

Ochiltree 256.680 

Potter 253.280 

Randall 233,600 

Swisher 282,560 

Sherman 296,160 

Stephens 29.340 

Tarrant 166 

Wilbarger 158.74 \ 

Wheeler 201,120 

Wichita 88,821 

Wise 1,186 



46 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



RAILWAYS. 

When we come to speak of the benefits derived from railways, there is 
but one road to name in so far as the Panhandle country is concerned. The 
Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth was the pioneer road through this region, tin: 
first and best friend to the country. The completion of the road made 
possible the settlement of the Panhandle; and the railway has in a large 
sense wrested those beautiful Staked'Plains from under the dominion of the 
cow-boy, and transformed them into as grand a wheat district as can be 
found anywhere in the world. There is no second opinion among Tex- 
ans as to the great and lasting good accomplished by this pioneer railway. 
In 1890 the Union Pacific leased the line for a term of years. From Henri- 
etta a branch will be completed through the rich and fertile counties of Clay, 
Archer, Baylor, and Knox, terminating at Benjamin, in Knox county. 
Archer, Seymour, and other rising towns and villages are- on this branch. 

In the annual report of the condition of the Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth 
Railroad made by the directors in October, 1889, the following paragraph 
occurs: — 

"In October, 1887, there were but few farms north of Wichita Falls, 
and shipments of farm products from north of that point were not known; 
but after the line was opened, the country was taken up so rapidly that we 
shipped of the crop of 1888, from points in the territory mentioned, about 
150,000 bushels of grain, and have and will ship of the crop of 1889, more 
than 500,000 bushels; and from the acreage sown and from the present indi- 
cations, the crop of 1890 will be increased more than 200 per cent over that 
Df the present year. The Panhandle is the most productive small grain 
portion of the State, and second to none in the United States, as will be 
seen by the fact that in 1888, it averaged 21>£ bushels of wheat, and for the 
year 1889, 25 bushels of wheat, per acre; and in each year the result was 
from sod land to a very great extent, and from sod altogether in 1888." 

As the railway is the all-important factor in opening up and developing 
a new country, so its traffic statistics are valuable as illustrating the growth 
of the new region, and upon these returns may be predicated an opinion as 
to the value of the virgin territory acquired. Bearing in mind the para- 
graph quoted above, and remembering further that the line was completed 
in March, 1888, note the following: — 

LIVE STOCK SHIPMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 
OCTOBER 31, 1889. 



North bound 
South bound 

Total 



No. Cars. No. Head. 



6,623 

5,781 



12,404 



lOS, 335 

103,555 



k 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 
TOTAL STOCK SHIPMENTS. 



r, 





Care. 


Cattle. 


Horses. 


Sheep. 


Hogs. 


Total. 





7,295 
12,404 


192,318 
837,571 


3,858 

4,942 


14,294 

17,878 


149 
1,499 


209,619 
861,800 








5,109 


145,253 


2,084 


3,584 


l,a50 


152,271 



The statemenl which follows shows the amount of freight in pounds 
forwarded and received for the year ending November 1, 1880. It is inter- 
esting to examine the commerce of ihese towns, remembering as we must 
that many of these were not in existence three or four years ago. This 
report embraces the towns in Texas only on the lino of the Denver. Texas 
& Ft. Worth Division of the Union Pacific System. 



STATIONS. 



Fort Worth. 

Hodge 

Saginaw — 
Calef. 



Khome 

Kirk land 

Decatur 

Alvord 

Sunset 

Bowie 

Bellevue 

Henrietta 

Wichita Falls. 

Iowa Park 

Rutherford 

Harrold 

Oklaunion 

Vernon 

Wheatland — 
chillicothe... 

Evans 

Quanah 

( ihildrese 

Salisbury 

Giles 

Clarendon... . 

(inodnight 

Claude 

Washburn 

Panhandle 

Pullman . ... 

Amarillo 

Field 

Ady 

Newlin 

Tascosa 

i heyenne 

Rivers 

Duncan 

Hartley 

Twist 

Matlock 

Farwell 

Texlitie 

Heaver 

Frederick 



Freight Forw'd Freight Rec'd. 
Pounds. Pounds. 



430, 
15, 



613,692 
655,608 
933,009 



4,839,856 

10,; ' ' 



317,742 
1)40,291 
357,144 
022,441 
731,675 
559,996 
017,237 
569,650 
446,638 
,444,985 



237.551 
1(34,375 



753.891 
092.281 

73,318 
741,160 
886,508 

32,976 

80,290 
377,204 
072,183 

36,868 
061,106 



259,154,748 
3,726,548 
3,915,253 

27.00C 

4,841,073 

400 

15,830,991 
4,959,578 
4,742,717 

11,438,991 
4,458,695 

12.592.394 

23,525,989 

3,622,345 

2,440,241 

6,153,532 

115,210 

42,034,537 



3,171,366 
174 

13,698,474 
9,252,608 
2,380.985 
1,896,057 

11,210.231 
814,508 
1,436,049 
2,777,604 
9,719,936 



14,407,677 

20,000 



,144,770 

859,738 



169,470 



1,987 
4,742,714 
1,551,668 

2,810 



371,780 



259 



81,040 
214,760 



3,230 

505,194 

430,612,692 

20,400 

116,296 



t-„,„, , j No. Tons. 

Totals j No. Pounds. 

Same 12 Months Last Year j go. Tons.^ 

"— ■ l^Sna,. 



414.264 
S2S.5-\s 527 

3*1 624 

695,2^7 495 

66 641 

133,281,082 



114,264 
828,528,527 

347.624 

695,247,495 

66,641 

1*3,281,032 



48 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

PUBLIC EDUCATION. 
(From the report of the Commissioner of Education.) 

FREE SCHOOLS. 

Under this topic are included: — 
i. The Common-School System. 

2. The Normal Schools. 

3. The University of Texas. 

The Common-School System embraces: (1.) Rural Schools, (2.) Independ- 
ent School Districts (cities and towns). 

The rural schools are organized in two ways: (a) Districts, (b) Communities. 

The districts are formed by the commissioners' courts, have geographical 
boundaries, and may vote a levy of local school tax not exceeding two mills. 
One hundred and five counties are thus districted, and about three per cent 
of the districts levy local taxes. 

In 87 counties the schools are operated on a peculiar plan called the 
" community system." The community has no geographical boundaries, and 
enrollment on the community list is a matter of local enterprise. Local 
taxes can be levied in community counties, but the plan is cumbrous and 
rather inefficient. 

The cities and towns of the State may be constituted independent dis- 
tricts on a majority vote of the people of the municipality. Independent 
districts may vote a levy of local school tax not exceeding five mills. These 
districts are independent of the county school officers, and receive the State 
apportionment direct. 

THE STATE ENDOWMENT 

Of the common schools is large. About $7, 000, 000 in interest-bearing bonds, 
more than $10,000,000 in interest-bearing land notes, and about 28,000,000 
acres of unsold lands, constitute the State endowment, Of the unsold 
school lands 7,000,000 acres are leased at 4 cents per acre, and the funds thus 
derived added to the annual available school fund. 

Besides the State endowment fund, each county has been granted by the 
State four leagues of land, which constitute county endowment. As these 
lands are sold, the funds received are invested under the authority of the 
county commissioners' court, and the interest on the investment is applied 
annually to the support of the schools. A considerable portion of these 
lands is leased for varying terms of years, and the rental applied as the 
rental of the State school lands. These lands are under the exclusive con- 
trol of the county authorities. Seven hundred and sixty-eight leagues have 
been thus granted to counties, and a reservation has been made from the 
public domain for the unorganized counties. 

In addition to the interest on bonds and land notes and rental from 
leases, the State levies an annual ad valorem school tax of one and one- 
(juarter mills, devotes one-fourth of the occupation taxes and an annual poll 
tax of $1 to the available school fund. The entire amount of available 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 49 

apportioned school fund for the year 1888-9, was $2,112,440, and the total 
receipts by local treasurers, Including balances from the previous year, were 
$3,308,000. The disbursements for the same year amounted to $2,776,000. 

SAM HOUSTON STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. 

In 1879 the Normal school was established by the State of Texas for the 
purpose of training competent teachers for the public schools. Regarding 
the Normal school as the heart of the public school system, it was decided 
to name the proposed institution the "Sam Houston Normal Institute," in 
honor of the hero of Texas independence. Houston had spent the evening 
of his eventful life, in Huntsyille. Eere was his neglected grave. As an 
everlasting monument to the honored dead the Normal school was located 
at Huntsville. On the first of October, 1879, the Institute opened. The 
school is strictly professional, and its aim is to qualify teachers in the best 
possible manner for the work of the school room. No effort has been made 
to secure large numbers, but rather the best material for making efficient 
teachers. None are admitted under seventeen years of age, or who do not 
possess a good knowledge of the common branches. All students sign a 
pledge to teach in the public schools of the State. 

The standard for admission has been steadily raised as the educational 
agencies of the State have become more efficient. The aim is to make this 
strictly a professional school for preparing trained teachers for the public 
schools of Texas. Academic instruction is given only as far as it is absolutely 
necessary, and this necessity steadily diminishes from year to year, as the 
public schools, high schools, and colleges of the State become more thorough 
in t heir instruction. The new building will be a model school building, 
with all the modern appliances, and will furnish ample accommodations for 
:.oo students. This institution is under control of the State Board of Edu- 
cation, composed of the Governor, Comptroller of Public Accounts, and 
Secretary of State, who appoint a local board for its immediate supervision. 

PRAIRIE VIEW STATE NORMAL SCHOOL. 

This institution is located six miles east of Hempstead, in Waller county. 
It is a branch of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, and 
under the sjovernment of the Board of Directors of that school. Originally 
it was designed for an industrial school, but the lack of education among 
the colored people of the State, and the pressing need of trained teachers for 
the colored schools, led to a change of object, and it was therefore converted 
into a normal school for training colored teachers. The constant and 
steadily increasing patronage it has since received, is the best evidence of 
the wisdom of the change — the session of 1887-88 having the largest attend- 
ance and being the most prosperous in the history of the institution. 

Since its establishment, 7.">7 teachers have received more or less profes- 
sional training, and a large number of them are occupying influential and 
profitable positions in the public free schools of the State. The teachers 
4 Texas 



50 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

are all colored people, who have thus far governed the school with credit to 
themselves and to the entire satisfaction of the Board of Directors. The 
institution is supported by direct appropriations from the general revenues 
of the State, and one State student from each senatorial district and fifteen 
from the State at large are admitted and taught free of charge 

AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS. 

The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas was formally opened 
for the reception of students October 4, 1876. The Constitution of Texas 
provides that taxes may be raised for the maintenance and support of the 
college. It is situated at College Station in the county of Brazos, five miles 
south of Bryan, and ninety-five miles northwest of Houston. Its govern- 
ment is vested in a Board of Directors, consisting of five members appointed 
by the Governor of the State. They are " selected from different sections of 
the State, and hold office for six years, or during good behavior, and until 
their successors are qualified." 

In November, 1866, the Legislature formally accepted from Congress the 
gift of 180,000 acres of public l.and for the endowment of an agricultural 
and mechanical college. This land was sold for $174,000, which sum was 
invested in 7 per cent State bonds. As under the act of Congress neither 
principal nor interest of this money could be used for other purposes than 
the payment of officers' salaries, at the time of the opening of the college 
there was an addition to the fund, from accumulated interest, of $35,000. 
This was invested in 6 per cent bonds of the State, thus furnishing an 
annual income of $14,280. The county of Brazos also donated to the college 
2,416 acres of land lying on each side of the Houston and Texas Central 
Railroad. 

OBJECTS AND PRESENT POLICY. 

The act of Congress which established the State Agricultural and 
Mechanical Colleges defines their objects. But under that act there have been 
founded as many different schools as there are States. These institutions 
have presented a variety of educational schemes which have embraced nearly 
all gradations from the classical and mathematical college to the manual 
labor industrial school. In view of this fact it is proper to state as definitely 
as possible the interpretation given to the act of Congress by the authorities 
of this college, and the manner in which they are endeavoring to carry out 
its provisions. 

The general object of this college is to excite and foster in the minds 
of the people an enthusiastic appreciation of the attractiveness and value of 
those pursuits by which the material development of the country is advanced. 
It is the business of this college to turn the attention of our young men from 
the over-crowded " learned professions '• to those occupations which have 
brought abundant wealth and power to other States, and which are begin- 
ning now to attract and well repay the services of trained young men 
in Texas. 

These objects are sought to be attained: — 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 51 

(1.) A thorough course of instruction in mathematics and Datura! 
science, with continual application of principles to work in theshops, fields, 
gardens, vineyard, orchard, pastures, dairies, and other laboratories. 

(2.) By relying upon text-books as little as possible, to lead the 
students to seek information directly from observation and experiment. 

(3.) To inculcate the dignity of intelligent labor — banishing the idea 
that t lie farmer or mechanic who is worthy of the name need be any less 
learned than the professional man. 

(4.) To induce in the mind of the student an enthusiastic love of 
nature and the study of natural laws, whereby agricultural and mechanical 
processes become invested witli absorbing interest, and are pursued in a 
Spirit which leads to progress and success. 

To enter the college an applicant must be in his sixteenth year, or at 
least must have attained a degree of physical and mental advancement cor- 
responding to that age. He must be free from contagious or infectious dis- 
ease, or any deformity that would unfit him for the performance of his 
duties as a student of this cellegc. He may be required to furnish evidence 
that he has not been dismissed from another institution of learning, and 
that his moral character is good 

The mental attainments necessary for entering upon the courses of study 
comprise a fair knowledge of arithmetic as far as proportion, of descriptive 
geography, and of elementary English grammar and composition. 

The regular courses of study lead to the degrees of Bachelor of Scientific 
Agriculture, Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Civil Engi- 
neering, and Bachelor of Scientific Horticulture. 

Thorough instruction, theoretical and practical, is given in the depart- 
ments of Mathematics, Agriculture, Mechanics, Civil Engineering, Horti- 
culture, Chemistry, English, Veterinary Science, and Drawing; courses in 
Modern Languages; special short courses in Agriculture, Horticulture, 
Dairying, Carpentry, Blacksmithing, Machinery, Chemistry, Drawing, and 
Surveying. 

Total expenses for session (exclusive of books and clothing), $140. 

AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION OF THE AGRICULT- 
URAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE OF TEXAS, 
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS. 

In 1887 Congress made provision for establishing, equipping, and sup- 
porting Agricultural Experiment Stations in the several States, the stations 
to be placed under the supervision of the Boards of Directors of the State 
Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges, where such colleges have been estab- 
lished. 

The act of Congress appropriates. $15, 000 per annum from the United States 
Treasury, to each State, to equip and support the stations. Owing to some 
technical defect in the bill as passed, additional legislation was required to 
make the fund available. By recent enactment the appropriation is placed 
at the disposal of the several States, and the stations are being organized. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

The purpose for which the Agricultural Experiment Station Bill was 
passed, is clearly set forth in section 2 of the Act, which reads as follows:— 

" It shall be the object and duty of said Experiment Stations to conduct 
original researches or verify experiments on the physiology of plants and 
animals; the diseases to which they are severally subject, with the remedies 
for the same; the chemical composition of useful plants at their different 
stages of growth; the comparative advantages of rotative cropping as fur- 
nished under a varying series of crops; the capacity of new plants or trees 
for acclimation; the analysis of soils and water; the chemical composition 
of manures, natural or artificial, with experiments designed to test their 
comparative effect on crops of different kinds; the adaptation and value of 
grasses and forage plants; the composition and digestibility of the different 
kinds of food for domestic animals; the scientific and economic questions 
involved in the production of butter and cheese; and such other researches 
or experiments bearing directly on the agricultural industry of the United 
States as may in each case be deemed advisable." 

The bill further provides that reports of the progress made in experi- 
ments shall be published from time to time, one copy of which shall be sent 
to each newspaper published in the State where such station is located, and 
one to each individual actually engaged in farming who may request the 
same, as far as the means of the station will permit ; all such reports to be 
carried in the mails free. 

These Experiment Stations were placed under the supervision of the 
Boards of Directors of the Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges, not for 
the purpose of assisting the colleges, but because it was thought the fund 
would be most judiciously expended under such control, and it was believed 
that a portion of the equipment of said colleges, in the way of land, stock, 
implements, etc., might, without detriment to the work of the colleges, be 
used to some extent in experimental work. It was thought also that men 
employed at the colleges, many of whom have become skilled in experimental 
work, would be able to give part of their time to the station. 

In accordance with the Act of Congress, the Board of Directors of the 
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas have established this station, 
and have made provision for beginning the work. The station is located at 
the college, and is made a department of the college. Such part of the college 
farm, buildings, and other equipments as may be deemed necessary for experi- 
mental work will be assigned to the station department by the Board of 
Directors, who desire to make the work of the station of as much value to 
the agricultural interests of the State as may be possible. The work will 
be conducted at all times with special reference to giving information of 
value that may be of some practical use to the farmer. To enable them to 
carry out this policy, all associations having the advancement of agriculture 
in view — the Grange, Alliance, Stock-breeders, Fruit-growers, and other 
organizations — will be invited from time to time to appoint delegates to 
meet with the Board of Directors and the Council, and consult and advise 
with them in regard to the work of the station. Suggestions will be gladly 
received at all times from any one who is interested in advancing the agri- 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 53 

cultural interests of the State Following is a list of the most important 
investigations so far undertaken by the station: — 

A study of the disease of the cotton plant known as " blight," or " root 
rot," and experiments to find a preventive fur the same; jointly with the 
Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, a study of the cattle disease — 
Texas fever — to determine how the disease is transmitted, what parts of 
the State are free from it, and experiments in disinfecting to prevent cattle 
from spreading the disease when Texas cattle are shipped north, and inocu- 
lating cattle to protect from the disease, when brought into the State; testing 
different fertilizers: growing a variety of forage plants, including silage 
crops; fattening cattle on different rations to determine the most economical 
method of feeding; testing a variety of food stuffs for the production of 
butter; testing tile drains on land used for growing farm, fruit, and vege- 
table crops; testing a variety of grasses, fruits, and vegetables; operating a 
creamery for investigation in dairy work. 

Bulletins are published from time to time, giving in detail the work of the 
station, and sent free to any applicant in the State. 

Information in regard to construction of silos, farm buildings, creameries, 
with plans for the same, and list of machinery and estimates as to cost, will 
be supplied upon request. 

STATE UNIVERSITY. 

The University of Texas owes its existence to the wisdom, foresight, and 
statesmanship of the founders of the Republic of Texas, who made the most 
ample provision for its establishment and maintenance in the legislation of 
that period. By an act of the Third Congress fifty leagues of land were set 
apart as an endowment for the University. The Legislature of Texas, by 
an act approved February 11, 1858, added to this $100,000 in United States 
bonds, then in the State Treasury, and every tenth section of land granted 
or that might be thereafter granted to railroads or the Brazos and Galveston 
Navigation Company, which was to be used as an endowment and for the pur- 
pose of putting the University into operation. This act was, however, never 
carried out, doubtless on account of the intervention of the civil war. The 
Constitution of 1876 reappropriated all grants before made, except the one- 
tenth section, and in lieu thereof set apart 1,000,000 acres of the unappro- 
priated public domain for the University. 

The Legislature, by an act approved March 30, 1881, provided for the 
location, organization, and government of the University of Texas, and in 
obedience to that act an election was held the first Tuesday in September, 
1881, to determine where the institution should be located, resulting in favor 
of Austin, the capital of the State. 

The buildings are situated about three-quarters of mile north of the 
State Capitol, on an imposing site in the center of a forty-acre tract of land 
set apart by the Third Congress of the Republic of Texas for that purpose, 
and were opened for the reception of students September 15, 1883. Thus 
was the Ipng-cherished desire of the fathers of Texas, and the wishes of the 
people as often expressed in the various State Constitutions, at last 
attained. 



54 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

The University is governed by a Board of Regents composed of eight 
citizens, residents of different sections of the State, who are appointed by 
the Governor, and confirmed by the Senate. By an act of the Legislature 
approved April 10, 1883, 1,000,000 acres of the public debt land were added 
to the permanent University fund. Of the various land grants made to the 
University there now remain unsold 2,023,978 acres. 

The graduates of approved high schools will be admitted to the Univer 
sity without examination, provided they have reached the required age, and 
provided they present themselves for admission at the beginning of the 
scholastic year next succeeding their graduation from the high school. If, 
however, a graduate of an approved high school is not sixteen at this time, 
he will be allowed to enter when he attains this age. 

The session begins the fourth Wednesday in September, and closes on 
the third Wednesday in June, and is divided into two terms. 

Co-education is a feature of this institution. Young women have equal 
advantages with the young men, and the course of study is the same for 
both. Tuition in the University is free to all residents of the State. 

BLIND ASYLUM. 

The State Asylum for the Blind was established September 2, 1856, and 
has for its object the education of blind persons. It is not an asylum 
where -the indigent and helpless are cared for at the public expense, but a 
school in which the blind receive such general education amd training in 
industrial pursuits as will aid them to become self-supporting. When the 
course of study prescribed has been completed, the pupils return to their 
homes, as do the pupils of other schools, and, like them, are no longer a 
charge upon the State. In short, the only difference between the school 
for the blind and a public school is in the amount of money the State 
expends on them. Sighted persons only receive free tuition, while the 
blind are fed, clothed and transported to and from school at public 
expense. 

The course of study is as follows: — 

Reading by Touch in Point and Line Print, Writing in New York Point, 
Arithmetic, Mathematical and Physical Geography, English Grammar, 
Etymology, Elements of Ancient and Modern History, Natural Philoso- 
phy, English Literature, Elements of Chemistry, Physiology and Hygiene. 

Of the trades, piano-forte tuning, broom making, and upholstering are 
taught to the young men 

The young ladies receive instruction in crocheting and bead work, and 
learn to sew by hand and machine. 

The young men excel sighted persons as piano tuners, and become very 
proficient at making brooms, mattresses, pillows, and bottoming chairs with 
cane and rattan. The bead work and crocheting done by the young ladies 
would reflect credit on sighted persons. The physical development of 
pupils is promoted by regular daily exercises in calisthenics, with dumb-bells, 
Indian clubs, and rings. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

Pupils whose sight can be benefited by operating on their eyes receive 
treatment from a skilled oculist connected with the Institution. About 
twenty-three persons have In this way been restored to sight within the 
last twelve years. 

All blind persons, or persons who cannot see to read ordinary newspaper 
print, between eight and twenty years of age, will be admitted to the institu- 
tion. The school is located in Austin, and in Dumber of teachers, size of I he 
buildings, the amount of philosophical, chemical, and astronomical appara- 
tus, maps, globes, and appliances for the schoolroom, variety of musical 
Instruments, etc., is the largest in the South. Number of pupils enrolled 
during 1888, 138. 

DEAF AND DUMB ASYLUM. 

The State Deaf and Dumb Asylum is situated at the State Capital, on a 
commanding height south of the Colorado River, and is justly regarded as 
one of the most beautiful and healthful locations in the city. During the 
session of 1888-81) 10(5 pupils were enrolled, and were in actual attendance. 
The health of the institution has been exceptionally good, and only one 
death occurred during the year. 

It is the purpose of the State in establishing such institutions to give to 
the students a practical education, and as far as possible rescue this unfor- 
tunate class from helplessness and dependence. In addition, therefore, to 
the instruction usual in such schools, a printing office, book-bindery and 
shoe shop have been established for the purpose of teaching those trades to 
such of the pupils as have the ability and inclination to learn them. Skilled 
workmen, experts in their business, are in charge of each of these depart- 
ments, and the progress made by the students under them has thus far been 
very encouraging. An art department was inaugurated October 5, 1887, 
and is now one of the most interesting and attractive features of the school. 
Some of the pupils acquired such skill in crayon work before the end of the 
session that they were offered profitable employment at work of that kind 
during vacation. 

The conditions of admission to the institution are few and simple. The 
age at which pupils are received, and the length of time they are kept, are 
matters left to the discretion of the superintendent. Persons not suscepti- 
ble of receiving instruction will not be received at all. Parents are required 
to furnish transportation if able to do so, otherwise it will be provided by 
the State. 

The school opens the first Wednesday in September, and closes the first 
Wednesday in June, of each year. Pupils are required to return to their 
homes during vacation to give opportunity to renovate and repair the 
buildings. 

DEAF AND DUMB AND BLIND INSTITUTE FOR COLORED YOUTH. 

The Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum for Colored Youth was estab- 
lished by an act of the Twentieth Legislature, which provided for the 
appointment of a board to select a site near the city of Austin, and appro 



56 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

priated $50,000 for the erection of buildings and the purchase of furniture. 
An admirable location, about two and a quarter miles northwest of Austin, 
was selected for the buildings, and the institution lirst opened for the recep- 
tion of students October 1, 1887. On December 31, 1889, the attendance had 
reached sixty, twenty-five of whom were blind, and thirty-live deaf and 
dumb, children. 

The same general rules of government and conditions of admission in 
force at the institutions for the blind and deaf and dumb for the whites, 
obtain in this institution. The text-books and system of instruction are 
also the same. 

STATE LUNATIC ASYLUM. 

The State Lunatic Asylum is situated about two miles north of Austin, 
on a beautiful plateau of ground adorned and beautified by flowers, plants, 
summer-houses, and forest trees, the latter constituting a splendid park, 
upon whose grassy lawn the patients are permitted to take exercise and 
get fresh air and sunshine. The buildings are capacious and elegant, though 
somewhat crowded owing to the rapidity with which the insane population 
increases. 

In connection with the institution there is a large farm and garden where 
patients are permitted to work with a view of diverting the mind and 
affording exercise for the body. For the same purpose concerts, music, 
dancing, and other amusements are indulged in once a week. Most patients 
enjoy the farm work very much, and look forward with great interest to 
the return of the day appointed for the weekly entertainment. In this way 
their minds are pleasantly occupied with new subjects, and in many cases 
ultimate recovery is thereby made possible. 

NORTH TEXAS HOSPITAL FOR THE INSANE. 

This institution is located at Terrell, in Kaufman county, and was first 
opened for the reception of patients July 15, 1885. It was established in 
obedience to a general demand for additional asylum room for the accom- 
modation of the hundreds of insane persons then confined in jails and on 
poor farms throughout the State. The buildings are constructed on the 
latest and most improved plan of hospitals for the insane, and contain all 
modern conveniences for the treatment of the insane. 

STATE ORPHAN ASYLUM. 

The creation of an Orphan Asylum was contemplated and provided for 
by the founders of the State government, who gave it the same land endow- 
ments bestowed on other charitable institutions. The establishment of 
this institution was required by an act of the Twentieth Legislature, ap- 
proved April 4, 1887. The Governor was required to appoint three commis- 
sioners to select a site for the asylum. Competition between the various 
towns in the State for the location of the institution was invited, which 
resulted in the selection of Corsicana, in Navarro county. The site on 



THE TEXAS I'ANIIANDLB. 57 

which t he asylum is located and the surrounding scenery are unsurpassed 
by any place in the State for their beauty and adaptibility for such an insti- 
tution. The buildings, which arc constructed on the cottage plan, and 
bave a capacity of about 200 inmates, were completed and the institution 
formally opened duly 15, 1889. Up to September 20, twenty orphan chil- 
dren had been received, and a considerable increase En that number was 
expected during the fall months. 

The asylum is governed by a board of managers, who are appointed by 
the Governor, and have power to prescribe rules and regulations for the 
admission of inmates, and control of the institution. All orphan children 
under the age of 14 years shall be admitted, subject only to such restrictions 
as the board deem necessary to the welfare and good government of the 
asylum. The superintendent is required to keep a list of the names and 
ages of all children, with such data as may be obtainable concerning their 
history, subject at all times to public inspection. He is also required to see 
that their pro ruta of the public school fund is set aside, and to provide 
them with proper educational facilities. 

STATE HOUSE OF CORRECTION AND REFORMATORY. 

By act of the Twentieth Legislature, approved March 29, 1887, a State 
House of Correction and Reformatory for youthful convicts was provided 
for, and the Governor required to appoint a commission to locate the same. 
The institution was located two and one-fourth miles northeast of Gates- 
ville, Coryell county, and the necessary buildings erected there during the 
past summer. 

All persons under 16 years of age convicted of any felony, the punish- 
ment for which does not exceed five years* confinement, are sentenced to the 
Reformatory. 

The trustees are required to "see that the inmates are taught habits of 
industry and sobriety, some useful trade, and to read and write, and are 
also supplied with suitable books." The white and colored inmates of the 
institution arc required to be kept, worked, and educated separately. 

The institution is conducted on the "cottage" or family plan. The 
buildings are heated .by steam and lighted by electricity. Since the institu- 
tion was opened, a farm of 200 acres and a garden and orchard — about 60i 
acres — have been put in cultivation. 

THE USEFUL MINERALS. 

Hon. E. T. Dumble, State Geologist, says: — 

"The mineral deposits, like many other features of Texas, are so wide- 
spread and of so diversified a character, that it is difficult even to attempt 
to describe them. The geological survey has only been in existence a year, 
and although much work has been done, scarcely an impression has been 
made on the problem before us. It has determined, however, that coal, 
limonlte, hematite, and magnetic iron ores, copper, silver, lead, cement 
materials, kaolin, potter's and fire clays, glass sands, salt, gypsum, natural 
gas, petroleum, and many varieties of building stone exist here in sufficient 



58 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

quantity to warrant their profitable working; but there has not yet been 
time to investigate any of these deposits in detail. This is a matter that 
will require some time, as there is much preliminary work to be done, in 
order to obtain a proper basis for investigation." 

SOME PANHANDLE COUNTIES. 

It will be impossible to give a detailed description of every county in the 
Panhandle country, or all of those lying contiguous or tributary to the Den- 
ver, Texas & Fort Worth Division of the Union Pacific System. In some 
instances these counties are very young, — barely past organization, — and 
reliable data cannot be procured this year. The statistics presented for the 
older counties are derived from official sources, and may be relied on as 
thoroughly accurate. Starting from Fort Worth, the present terminus of 
the Union Pacific System in Texas, a description will be given of those 
counties on either side of the line from Tarrant county north to the State 
line. 

TARRANT COUNTY 

Is situated in Northern Texas and joins Dallas county, which forms its 
eastern boundary. It is also bounded by Johnson county and a narrow strip 
of Ellis on the south, Parker on the west, and Denton and Wise counties on 
the north. 

It was created in 1849 from Navarro county, and named in honor of an 
old citizen of that section, Gen. E. H. Tarrant. The county is abundantly 
watered. The Trinity River enters the county at the northwest corner, 
and, running in a southeasterly direction to about the center of the county, 
makes an abrupt turn and passes out about centrally through the eastern 
part of the county. Besides the Trinity River the county is watered by Rig 
and Little Bear, Village, Rush, Deer, Denton, Henrietta, Mustang, Wal- 
nut, Indian, Sycamore, Big and Little Fossil, Mary, Silver, Maine, and Rock 
creeks and a number of smaller streams, and Hurst, Calloway, and Park lakes. 

This is a farming and stock-raising county. The soil is well adapted to 
agriculture. It varies from a red sandy to a black waxy, the latter soil 
prevailing. All the cereals grown in the best black land sections are pro- 
duced in abundance here. 

The general surface of the county is high and rolling. The water- 
courses are timbered with oak, ash, pecan, elm, and hackberry. The east- 
ern portion of the county is traversed by the belt of timber known as the 
Lower Cross Timbers. This timber consists largely of post oak, blackjack, 
and hickory. 

Fort Worth is the county seat, the population being estimated at 35,000. 
The other principal towns in the county are: Grape Vine, population 800; 
Arlington, population 600; Mansfield, population 500; Crowley, popula- 
tion 150. 

Vatvtjb of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$11,261. 838; in 1888, $12,516,021. Increase, $1,254,183. 



TIIH TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



59 



Lank-, [mproved lands soil for from $8 to $20 per acre, unimproved 
for from $3 to $10 per acre. The average taxable value <>f and In t-lic 
county is $0.20 per acre. Acres Slate school land In county. 6. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 8,086, with 40 
school houses, and gives employment to 146 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White -males $68.83, females $49.23; colored— males $5:s.7:>, 
females 47.50. Total number of pupils enrolled during the year was 6,623, 
average attendance 1,845, and the average length of school term 157 days. 
The estimated value of school houses and grounds is $60,275, school appa- 
ratus $4,800, making the total value of school property $65,075. The 
total tuition revenue received from the State was $32,344. 

The farmers of this county purchased during the year 153,700 pounds of 
bacon. 24.H70 pounds of lard, 26,791 bushels of corn, 16,455 gallons 
of molasses. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



Croiis. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Hurley, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Beans, bushels 

Bay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses. 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 

strawberries 



591 

145 
(171 
4115 
907 

190 
430 

20 

60 

V 
180 
983 
019 
393 
133 



121 



Product. 



8,518 

1,111,886 

264,573 

394,530 

1,949 

1,555 

50,190 

2,789 

1,207 

25 

3,046 

5,469 

4,014 

520 

752 

4,259 



Value. 



$349, 900 

319,336 

236,662 

100,883 

977 

960 

16,844 

2,060 

1,530 

25 

12,680 

23,207 

22,549 

10,750 

4,995 

34,072 

2,890 



Bees. — Stands of bees, 1,000; pounds of honey 30,103, value $3,170. 

Wool. — Number of sheep sheared 1,409; pounds of wool clipped 4,899, 
value $845. 

Live Stock, — Number of horses and mules 14,207, value $431,228; 
cattle 39.183, value 8220,589; jacks and jennets 60, value $6,595; sheep 2,029, 
value $1,885: goats 1,638, value $1,052. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 1888 
was 60 cents. On December 31, 1888, there was a balance in the county 
treasury of $18,913.34. The indebtedness on December 31, 1888: Out- 
standing jail bonds $100,000, road and bridge bonds $41,700. Total bonded 
indebtedness, $141,700. All other indebtedness, $273. Total county indebt- 
edness, $141,973. 

The county expended during the year $6,100 for erecting public build- 
ings, $26,666.65 for roads and bridges, $2,104.80 for support of the 
paupers, $1,680 for grand jury, $8,082 for petit jury. Total amount 
expended for the support of the county government^ $50,025.09. 



60 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

Miscellaneous.— There are in the county 88 lawyers, 45 physicians, 10 
dentists, 410 mercantile establishments, 5 wholesale liquor dealers, 61 beer 
dealers, 8 flour mills, 1 saw mill, 5 ice factories, and 7 fire brick and tile 
manufactories. 

THE CITY OF FORT WORTH. 

Fort Worth, the county seat, is situated 30 miles west of the city of Dal- 
las, near the center of the county, on a plateau overlooking the Trinity 
River. It is young, vigorous, and enterprising, and is making rapid prog- 
ress toward complete success as a city of commercial and manufacturing 
importance. By general consent it stands unrivaled as a city of pluck and 
push, and it has been marked by a steady progress, changing only as the 
great tide of business depression or activity swept over the country, and 
now it is busy with vast undertakings by its railroad and other corporations, 
and by private individuals. Fort Worth has long been the principal dis- 
tributing point of the live-stock trade of the great northwest and the Pan- 
handle country of Texas. It is the general headquarters of the stockmen 
of these sections, which has very materially assisted in building up and 
maintaining the city. 

When the Texas & Pacific railroad reached Fort Worth in 1876, it was 
a small frontier village with less than 1,200 inhabitants. Immigration 
poured in. The fertile lands around the city were rapidly taken up by a 
thrifty and intelligent class of people. The effect was marked, and the 
increase in wealth and population went steadily forward, and in three years 
it had gained a population of 5,000. The United States census of 1880 gave a 
population of 6,663; in 1888 the population was estimated to be 24,000, and 
in 1889 estimated (city directory) at 33,000. Assessed values in 1880, 
$1,992,891; in 1888, $8,583,670. 

Fort Worth is situated in the northern portion of the central artesian 
water belt of the State, and has within its limits about 200 artesian wells, 
which supply water for private and public enterprises. These wells vary in 
depth from 114 to 806 feet. The first well was dug in 1879, and there is no 
diminution of the water-flow. The water from these wells, in most in- 
stances, is wholesome, and is used also for drinking and domestic purposes. 

The manufacturing establishments now in operation and being con- 
structed are testimonies of Fort Worth's prosperity. They indicate what is 
in store for a city with such enterprise and financial backing as is possessed 
by Fort Worth. The city has 8 national banks with a combined capital of 
$2,500,000. The amount expended in building operations and public im- 
provements in 1888 was $1,175,712. 

Fort Worth is a great railroad center. The following lines form a junc- 
tion here: Texas & Pacific, the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas, the Fort 
Worth & Rio Grande, the Fort Worth & Denver City, the Gulf, Colorado 
& Santa Fe, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, and the Fort Worth & New 
Orleans. The shops of the Fort Worth & Denver City, the Texas & 
Pacific, and the Fort Worth & Rio Grande railroad companies are located 
here. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 01 

The business and principal residence streets are macadamized. The city 
has an electric street-car line, and a good system of sewerage and drainage. 

WISE COUNTY 

Is one of the square counties, and is bounded on the north by Montague and 
Cooke counties, east by Denton, south by Tarrant and Parker, and west by 
Jack. 

The county Is well watered. West Fork of the Trinity River flows 
nearly centrally through it from northwest to southeast; Sandy Creek enters 
the county near the northwest corner, and enters into West Fork of Trinity 
River near the center of the county. There are running streams of pure 
water, fed by numerous springs issuing from the banks along their courses. 
Timber in the county is plentiful. 

The county was created in 1856 from Cooke county, and named in honor 
of Governor Henry A. Wise, of Virginia. 

The surface of the county is generally rolling. The soil varies. There 
is the reddish or gray sandy soil of the timbered section, the black waxy of 
the prairies, and the dark loam or alluvium of the valleys, which give to the 
county land adapted to almost every conceivable purpose. The prairie land 
is particularly adapted to wheat, barley, oats, and corn, while the valley 
lands are of the highest order of fertility. Fruits and vegetables are also 
raised In abundance. Stock-raising and farming constitute the principal 
industry of the people. Coal of fair quality and in considerable quantities 
has been found in the county. 

The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the Union Pacific System 
[lasses nearly centrally through the county from the northwest to the south- 
east. This railroad has a mileage in the county of 39 miles. 

The county was organized in 1856, and contains an area of 900 square 
miles. Decatur is the county seat, population 2,500. The other principal 
towns in the county are: Alvord, population 400; Aurora, population 300; 
Chico, population 250; Craften, population 200; Greenwood, population 200. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, $4,664,- 
810; in 1888, 34,378,653. 

LANDS. — Improved lands sell for from $5 to $20 per acre, unimproved for 
from $1.50 to $5 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county 
is $4.26 per acre. Acres State school land in county, 656. 

Banks. — There is one national bank in the county, with a capital stock 
of $50,000 and a surplus of $25,000. 

Newspapers. — There are 4 weekly newspapers published in the county. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 5,212, with 48 
school houses, and gives employment to 117 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White— males $63.25, females, $37.61; colored females, $27.50. 
Total number of pupils enrolled during the year was 4,193, average attend- 
ant .'5,202. and average length of school term 136 days. The estimated 
value of school houses and grounds is $35,500, school apparatus $7,000, mak- 
ing the total value of school property $42,500. 



63 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sugar Cane, barrels syrup 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses. 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 

Crab Grass, tons 

Castor Beans, bushels 



Acres. 



),368 

),897 

1,249 

S,684 

70 

61 

575 

214 

69 

421 

,423 

!,215 

4 

976 

319 



528 
35 



Product. 



15,900 

1,493,018 

87.564 

299,292 

1,000 

511 

117,830 

32,653 

711 

1,206 

1,517 

3,545 

17 

1,799 

889 

7,950 

560 



Value. 



$644,752 

376,200 

87,564 

74,316 

500 

465 

30,928 

16,401 

855 

6,878 

8,143 

19,969 

384 

34,519 

4,597 

63,600 

2,972 

601 



Bees.— Stands of bees 1,017; pounds of honey 16,867, value $2,473. 

Wool. — Number of sheep sheared 1,988; pounds of wool clipped 6,109, 
value $1,000. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 12,022, value $400,485; cattle 
41,649, value $257,690; jacks and jennets 78, value $8,090; sheep 2,360, value 
$2,145; goats 2,010, value $1,705. 

County Finances.— The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 823^ cents. On December 31, 1888, there was a balance in the 
county treasury of $11,668.55. The indebtedness on December 31, 1888: 
Outstanding court-house and jail bonds $70,500, road and bridge bonds, 
$3,400, all other bonds, $6,000. Total bonded indebtedness, $79,900. All 
other indebtedness, $4,000. Total county indebtedness, $83,900. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 22 lawyers, 48 physicians, 2 
dentists, 109 mercantile establishments, 1 wholesale liquor dealer, 6 flour 
mills. 

THE CITY OF DECATUR. 



Decatur is situated in the southeastern part of the county on a com- 
manding eminence, on the divide between the West and Denton forks of 
Trinity River. It is prosperous, and is steadily growing in population and 
wealth, and has a bright future. It is surrounded by a prosperous farming 
district. Excellent coal and fine building stone are found in the county, 
and the developing of these is adding greatly to the wealth and importance 
of the city. It is on the Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the 
Union Pacific System, and is an important point for the shipment of grain 
and live stock. It had a population of 300 in 1870, of 1,500 in 1880, and an 
estimated population of 3,500 in 1889; the assessed values have increased 
from $50,000 to $714,000 during the same period. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE 



63 



MONTAGUE COUNTY 

Was formed from Cooke county in 1858. It is one of the group of the Rod 
River counties, and is bounded on the east by Cooke, south by Wise and 
Jack, and on the west by Clay. 

This county contains 891 square miles, and is particularly an agricult- 
ural county, in which industry the people are largely engaged. The soil 
is a rich loam and highly productive. Cotton, corn, oats, wheat, and other 
small grains and vegetables and fruits yield abundantly. The general 
surface is undulating, being about equally divided between prairie and 
woodland. The county is well watered. Sandy, Brushy, Denton, Clear 
Mountain, Cottonwood, Farmer, Salt, and Belknap creeks flow through the 
county, watering every section. Improved breeds of live stock are raised 
with proiit. 

The Methodist (Northern and Southern), Christian, Baptist, and Pres- 
byterian churches are each represented by church organization. 

Montague is the county seat, population 950. The other principal 
towns in the county are: St. Joe, population 1,000; Bowie, population 100; 
Burlington, population 500; Sunset, population 300; Belcher, population 150. 

Value op Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
83,683,785; in 1888, $3,944,488. Increase, $260,703. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $4 to $12 per acre, unimproved 
for from $1 to $8 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the 
county is $3.95 per acre. Acres State school land in county, 4,499. 

Banks. — There is one national bank in the county, with a capital stock 
of $50,000 and a surplus of $1,744. 

Newspapers. — There are 5 weekly newspapers published in the county. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 4,312, with 58 
school houses, and gives employment to 83 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White — males $73.50, females $41.50. Total number of pupils 
enrolled during the year was 4,190, average attendance 2,106, and the 
average length of school term 130 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OP FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Beans, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sugar Cane, barrels sugar 

Sugar Cane, barrels syrup 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses . 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 

Johnson Grass, tons 

Crab Grass, tons 



Acres. 



31,006 

37,025 

8,194 

7,653 

1 

304 

398 

94 

60 

6 

602 

1,909 

1,244 



1 
688 

174 



19 
2,027 



Product. 



10,965 

1,119,198 

68,248 

829,748 

483 

1,499 

58,246 

8,863 

855 

241 

612 

1,867 

1,691 

1 

4 

895 

428 

5,482 

40 

2,262 



Value. 



* 442,039 

296,319 

62,&37 

55,772 

160 

1,06!) 

16,076 

6,853 

751 

270 

2,786 

8,235 

8,101 

25 

115 

14,792 

1,634 

43,856 

160 

10,704 



64 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

Bees. — Stands of bees 432; pounds of honey 4,722, value $457. 

Wool. — Number of sheep sheared 599; pounds of wool clipped 2,124, 
value $380. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 10,728, value $225,728; cattle 
40,117, value $209,326; jacks and jennets 71, value $4,890; sheep 3,419, value 
$3,426; goats 694, value $851 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 62 7 A cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 15 lawyers, 3 dentists, 1 beer 
dealer, 3 flour mills, 1 saw mill. 

CLAY COUNTY 

Was made in 1857 from Cooke county, and named in honor of the distin- 
guished statesman Henry Clay. This county was originally organized in 1860, 
but the organization was soon abandoned, and the county was not reorganized 
until November, 1873. It contains an area of 1,122 square miles. It is 
separated from the Indian Territory by the Red River on the north. It has 
Wichita and Archer counties for its western, Montague for its eastern, and 
Jack for its southern boundary. The general surface of the county is roll- 
ing, with wide and level valleys along its numerous streams. The soil is 
well adapted to agriculture, which with stock-raising forms the principal 
industry of the people. 

- The Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Cumberland Presbyterian, Christ- 
ian, Catholic, Lutheran, and Dunkard churches are each represented by 
church organizations in the county. 

The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the Union Pacific System 
runs through the county. 

Henrietta is the county seat, population 3,500. Other principal towns 
in the county are: Newport, population, 200; Belleview, population, 300; 
Charlie, population, 50; Post Oak, population, 200 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$3,286,874; in 1888, $3,363,966. Increase, $77,092. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $5 to $10 per acre, unimproved 
for from $4 to $6 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county 
is $3.05 per acre. 

Banks. — There is one private bank in the county, with a capital stock of 
$50,000. 

Newspapers. — There are 2 weekly newspapers published in the county. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 1,236, with 26 
school houses, and gives employment to 7 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White— males, $69.16, females, $42.50; colored— males, $35. 
Total number of pupils enrolled during the year was 1,335, average attend- 
ance 580, and the average length of school term 110 days 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 
PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



63 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

i 'urn. bushels 

Wheat, imsliels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley bushels 

Kye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes,, bushels 

Pens, bushels 

Beans, bushels 

Hay. cultivated, tons 

Hay, (irairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses. 

Sorghum < lane, ions 

Sorghum Cane seed, bushels 

Cotton Seed, tons 

Broom < lorn, tons 

Johnson Grass, tons 



Acres. 



170 

186 

ilia 

980 

is 

307 

216 

35 

7 

4 

797 

501 

817 

157 

509 

335 



Product. 



2,355 

204,138 

46,457 

113,990 

354 

4,100 

69,740 

4,351 

130 

153 

1,330 

3,688 

3,910 

275 

5,157 

4,673 

1,177 

9 

258 



Value. 



105,975 

79,331 

40,457 

34,197 

818 

2,4% 

34,870 

4,351 

130 

300 

6,650 

18,140 

19,580 

4,400 

25,785 

2,803 

9,416 

540 

1,290 



BEES. — Stands of boos, 14; pounds of honey 117, value $17. 

Wool. — Number of sheep sheared, 4,500; pounds of wool clipped 25,440, 
value. 1 ?!. 579 

Livestock. — Number of horses and mules 5,770, value $134,308; cattlo 
13,433, value $298,482; jacks and jennets 21, value $960; sheep 1,676, value 
$2,046; goats 152, value $129. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 57)£ cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 25 lawyers, 8 physicians, 3 
dentists, 35 mercantile establishments, 4 flour mills, 2 saw mills. 



JACK COUNTY 

Was formed from Cooke county in 1856. It is one of the second tier of coun- 
ties from the Red River, being separated from it by Clay county. Its in- 
habitants are engaged in farming and stock-raising. The soil is about 
equally divided between sandy loam and black waxy. The surface is roll- 
ing prairie land and low valleys. The West Fork of the Trinity River passes 
through the north center of the county in a southeasterly direction. There 
pass through the county a number of smaller streams tributary to this and 
the Brazos River. Building stone of superior quality is plentiful in the 
county. A large deposit of gray limestone, or blue marble, is being 
quarried. There is a mineral well located in Vineyard City that is highly 
recommended for various diseases. 

The Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, and Christian churches are each 
represented by church organization. 

The county was organized in 1857, and contains an area of 870 square 
miles. Jacksboro is the county seat, population 1,000. The other principal 



5 Texas 



66 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



towns in the county are: New Hope, population 60; Antelope, population 
80; Brysin, population 50; Post Oak, population 75; Vineyard, population 40. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$2,200,791; in 1888, $2,269,194. Increase, $68,403. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $5 to $10 per acre, unimproved 
for from $2 to $5 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county 
is $2.72 per acre. Acres State school land in the county, 14,055. 

Newspapers. — There is one weekly newspaper published in the county. 

Schools.— This county has a total school population of 2,178, with 27 
school houses, and gives employment to 49 teachers. Average .wages paid 
teachers: White— males $46, females $38; colored — males $38, females $30. 
Total number of pupils enrolled during the year was 1,848, average attend- 
ance 932: and the average length of school term 86 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CHOPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Beans, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses. 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 



Acres. 


Product. 


7,717 


3,160 


14,265 


367,732 


2,369 


24,847 


2,116 


70,078 


4 


10 


142 


1,354 


143 


29,753 


54 


6,488 


17 


201 


4 


23 


20 


40 


53 


53 


509 


710 


188 


488 


685 


2,995 




1,580 



Value. 



$126,873 

91,933 

19,878 

15,453 

5 

1,178 

8,925 

2,595 

112 

23 

221 

265 

3,552 

5,990 

11,982 

12,640 



Bees. — Stands of bees 17; pounds of honey 450, value $57. 

Wool. — Number sheep sheared 2,820; pounds of wool clipped 13,842, 
value $2,518. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 7,585, value $175,188; cattle 
33,577, value $237,958; jacks and jennets 25, value $2,695; sheep, 11,494, 
value $14,195; goats 2,445, value $2,560. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 62% cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 7 lawyers, 2 dentists, 29 mer- 
cantile establishments, 2 beer dealers, 1 flour mill. 



WICHITA COUNTY 

Is one of the tier of the Red River counties, having for its boundaries the 
Red River on the north, Clay county on the east, Archer on the south, and 
Wilbarger on the west. It was formed in 1858 from Bexar county, and 
takes its name from the river which flows through the southern portion of 
the county. It is more particularly a stock-raising county, although farms 
are being opened and lands put in cultivation at a rapid rate, and in a few 



THF TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



67 



years the agricultural interests will surpass all others. The soil is well 
adapted to the growth of cotton, corn, wheat, and other cereals commonly 
grown in the State. It is principally a red and chocolate loam. The gen- 
eral surface is level, though there are rolling and broken portions. The 
county is well watered. The Red River and its tributaries water the 
northern portion, and Wichita River and Beaver Creek and their tribu- 
taries water the middle and southern portions. The Denver, Texas & Fort 
Worth Division of the Union Pacific System passes through the county from 
southeast to northwest. 

The Methodist, Baptist, and Episcopal churches have church organiza- 
tion. 

The county was organized In 1882, and contains an area, of 589 square 
miles. Wichita Falls is the county seat, population 2,500* and rapidly in- 
creasing. 

Value of Property; — The assessed value of all property in 1&87, 
Jl,828,495; in 1888, $1,844,647. Increase, $16,152. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $5 to $10 per acre, unimproved 
for from $2 to $4 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county 
i-fs.'i.lO per acre. Acres State school land in the county, 28,821. 

Banks. — There is one private bank in the county, and one national 
bank. 

Schools. — The county has a total school population of 434, and 5 school 
houses, and gives employment to 13 teachers. Average wages paid teach- 
ers: White — males $60, families $44.50. Total number of pupils enrolled 
during the year 384, average attendance 264, and the average length of 
school term 144 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, hales 

< orn. bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses 
Sorghum Cane, tons 



Acres. 


Product. 


76 


27 


8,279 


66,535 


8,291 


47,215 


1,587 


69,828 


2! 17 


2, 148 


3 


370 


2 


465 


224 


517 


332 


690 


303 


667 


3 


10 


65 


199 



Value. 



ifl.OSO 

26,014 

42.494 

16,948 

2,148 

370 

465 

4,136 

3,450 

6,670 

260 

1,060 



Wool.— Number of sheep sheared 3,125; pounds of wool clipped 15,515, 
value $2,325. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 945, value $30,505; cattle 
5,939, value $48,186; sheep 6,873, value $6,773; goats 975, value $1,463. 

County Fixaxces. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 65 cents. On December 31, 1888, there was a balance in the county 
treasury of $7,862.36. 



68 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

WICHITA FALLS 

Is one of the rising young towns which best illustrate the surprising growth 
of the Panhandle country. When this division of the Union Pacific was 
opened, the town was scarcely past the age and appearance of a frontier 
village. To-day it is one of the brightest, busiest towns in Texas, with a 
population of from 2,500 to 3,000 and increasing every month. 

No town in Northwest Texas has a brighter future than Wichita Falls. 
The location is all that could be desired, being the county seat, and having 
the trade of several of the best wheat-producing counties in Texas, and it is 
destined to be a city of importance. The trade of the great valley of the 
Wichita and Red rivers — to say nothing of that of the counties of Archer, 
Baylor, Knox, Throckmorton, and a good portion of Clay, Young and all of 
Wichita — gives this point a large territory to supply and draw from; in fact, 
no town in Northwest Texas possesses the advantages that Wichita Falls is 
favored with. 

The town has good free schools. If children are not educated in Texas, it is 
the fault of the parents and not that of the State. There are four churches 
in Wichita Falls, — Baptist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Methodist, and 
other denominations will soon build. Churches and school houses are 
erected in the country as needed. 

The receipts of Wichita Falls have grown from $4,500 per month in 1885 
to $35,000 per month in 1890, and are steadily increasing each month. This 
in itself speaks volumes for the country and the enterprise and work of the 
people, and is proof positive that Wichita Falls is well located for business 
and has a productive country to draw from. 

ARCHER COUNTY 

Is bounded by Clay and Jack counties on the east, Wichita on the north, and 
Young on the south. It is in the midst of a fine agricultural region, though 
stock-raising is the principal industry of the people. Farms are becoming 
more numerous yearly as the agricultural resources are developed. The 
soil is a rich loam. The general surface of the county is a rolling prairie. 
There is no timber belt, but a few small groves of trees appear in the south- 
eastern portion of the county and along the water-courses. Big Wichita 
River flows across the northwest corner of the county, Little Wichita River 
flows through the center of the county, West Fork of the Trinity River 
flows through the southern portion of the county. These streams with 
their tributaries water nearly every portion of the county. 

The Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian churches are each 
repiesentcd by church organization. 

The county was organized in 1880, and contains an area of 900 square 
miles. Archer is the county seat, population 475. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, $1,130,- 
577; in 1888 $1,169,932. Increase, $39,355. 



THE TEXAS PAN HANDLE. 



69 



LANDS. — Improved lands sell for from $7 to $13 per acre, unimproved for 
from $2 to $5 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county is 
$1.48 per acre. Acres State school land in county, 39,221. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 159, with 7 school 
houses, and gives employment to 8 teachers. Average wages paid teachers: 
\\ liiti — males $40.21, females $38.75. Total number of pupils enrolled dur- 
ing the year was 212, average attendance 85, and the average length of 
school term 120 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley, bushels 

Kye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Egyptian Corn, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 



Acres. 


Product. 


Value. 


858 


% 


$ 3,818 


864 


19,390 


9,186 


1,138 


16,865 


16,346 


6(i7 


27,407 


8,594 


9 


245 


190 


94 


983 


549 


5 


525 


262 


3 


60 


56 





100 


100 


5 


50 


30 


72 


164 


1,178 


114 


168 


1,003 


454 


485 


3,442 


30 


21 


420 


600 


1,796 


12,553 




48 


400 



Wool. — Number of sheep sheared 9,222; pounds of wool clipped 30,733, 
valued at $8,(301. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 3,657, value $59,237; cattle 
31,070, value $249,372; jacks and jennets 6, value $240; sheep 17,748, value 
$17,748; goats 135, value $135. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 60 cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 6 lawyers, 2 physicians, and 
3 mercantile establishments. 



BAYLOR COUNTY 

Joins Archer county on the west, and partakes largely of its character 
of soil and climate. The occupations of the people are similar. It is 
watered by the Brazos River in the south and the Wichita in the north. 
There are a number of smaller streams which distribute the water supply 
in every section of the county, affording ample supply to stock at all 
seasons of the year. The county is thinly settled; but the people who 
have found lodgment there are industrious and law-abiding, and are using 
their energies to make known the resources and wealth of the county. 
They extend a most hearty welcome to all new settlers 

The Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, and Methodist churches are each 
represented by church organization. 



70 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



The county was organized in 1879, and contains an area of 900 square 
miles. Seymour is the county seat, population 700 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$1,763,597; in 1888, $1,792,361 Increase, $28,664. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $5 to $10 per acre, unimproved 
for from $2 to $4 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the 
county is $2.50 per acre. Acres State school lands in county 51,962. 

Banks. — There is one private bank in the county. 

Newspapers. — There are 2 weekly newspapers published in the county. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 307, with 7 
school houses, and gives employment to 10 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White — males, $77.50; females $48. Total number of pupils 
enrolled during the year was 328, average attendance 204, and the average 
length of school term 130 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses 
Sorghum Cane, tons 



Acres. 


Product. 


Value. 


2,991 


58,926 


$29,392 


1,622 


23,924 


20,332 


1,673 


62,924 


15,811 


194 


2,622 


1,323 


IX 


40 


40 


4 


78 


80 


% 


5 


5 


21 


25 


201 


137 


140 


726 


47 


27 


604 


310 


524 


2,665 



Wool.— Number of sheep sheared 3,875; pounds of wool clipped 30,025, 
value $4,638. 

Livestock. — Number of horses and mules 2,736, value $60,153; cattle 
16,130, value $114,893; jacks and jennets 4, value $900; sheep 4,535, value 
$5,643; goats 245, value $187. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 72 cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 6 lawyers, 3 dentists, 2 phy- 
sicians, 9 mercantile establishments. 

KNOX COUNTY 



Was formed from Bexar county in 1858. It is one of the second tier of 
counties from the Red River, being separated from that river by Hardeman 
county, which bounds it on the north. It is one of the square counties in 
Northwestern Texas, and is otherwise bounded by Baylor on the east, Has- 
kell on the south, and King county on the west. It is well watered. North 
and South Wichita rivers flow through the northern and central parts of the 
county. The southern portion is traversed by the Brazos River. These, 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



71 



wiili their numerous tributaries, furnish abundant water for all purposes 
This is a farming and stock-raising section. Farming is carried on success- 
fully, the soil being a black waxy and sandy loam and highly productive. 
Stock-raising is the more important industry of the two. The general sur- 
face is rolling prairie, which peculiarly adapts it to grazing. There is also 
considerable rich bottom land In the county. Timber sufficient for all pur- 
poses is found. There is a ledge of sandstone extending nearly the entire 
length of the county from north to south, about four miles west of the center. 
In the western portion gypsum is found in inexhaustible quantities. There 
are surface indications of other minerals, especially of copper. 

The Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Christian churches are each 
represented by church organization. 

Benjamin is the county seat, population 500. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, $1,703,- 
0;-).-.; in L888, $1,657,688. 

Lands.— Improved lands sell for from $4 to $10 per acre, unimproved for 
from si io s;, per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county is 
$2.22 per acre. Acres State school land in county, 86,400. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 159, with 3 school 
houses, and gives employment to 3 teachers. Average wages paid teachers: 
White — males $75, females $35. Total number of pupils enrolled during the 
year was 136, average attendance 83, and the average length of school term 
120 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

( lom, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses. 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 



Acres. 



46 
924 

96 
201 

15 



34 

30 

56 

8 

312 



Product. 



19 

16,071 

1,315 

7,836 

195 

802 

144 

5 

35 

30 

68 

17 

991 

9 



Value. 



* 729 

8,036 
984 

3,062 
195 
874 
217 
15 
222 
140 
685 
395 

5,406 



Wool. — Number of sheep sheared 1,200; pounds of wool clipped 6,000, 
value $1,200. 

Live Stock. — Number horses and mules 2,384, value $54,140; cattle 
28,761, value $238,330; jacks and jennets 9, value $614; sheep 2,530, value 
$2,830; goats 6, value $6. 



WILBARGER COUNTY 

Joins Wichita county on the west, and has the Red River for its northern 
boundary. It is separated from the Indian Territory by the main stream of 



72 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



the Red River, and from Greer county by Prairie Dog Town Fork of the 
Red River. The county is otherwise bounded by Wichita on the east,, 
Baylor on the south, and Hardeman on the west. It was created from 
Bexar county in 1858, and named in honor of Josiah and Mathias Wilbarger.. 

The county is well watered. The Red River with its many tributaries, 
on the north. Pease River in the west central, and Beaver Creek on the 
south, furnish nearly every portion of the county with an abundant supply 
of water. Some of the streams, however, are impregnated with salt, gyp- 
sum, and lime, rendering the water unpalatable. The general surface is. 
level. There are, however, large bodies of undulating prairie. The tim- 
ber of the county is confined mostly to the water-courses, and consists of a 
growth of mesquite, cottonwood, elm, willow, and hackberry. About, 
three-fourths of the area of the county is suitable to profitable cultivation. 
The soil is a red and sandy loam. Cotton, corn, and the common cereals 
are raised with profit. Fruits and vegetables also grow well. 

The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the Union Pacific System 
passes about centrally through the county from southeast to northwest. 

The Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Christian churches are 
represented by church organization. 

The county was organized in 1881, and contains an area of 937 
square miles. Vernon is the county seat, population 4,100. The other 
principal towns in the county are: Harrold, population 250; Doans, popu- 
lation 200. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$2,300,076; in 1888, $2,332,773. Increase, $32,697. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $2.50 to $8 per acre, unimproved 
for from $2.50 to $5 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the 
county is $3.36,X per acre. Acres State school land in county, 69,421. 

Banks, — There is one private bank in the county. 

Newspapers. — There is one weekly newspaper published in the county. 

Schools.— This county has a total school population of 515, with 14 
school houses, and gives employment to 20 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White — males $60, females $45. Total number of pupils enrolled 
during the year was 461. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Acres. 



Product. 



Value. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley, bushels 

Rye, bushels., 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Hay, prairie, tons . 

Millet, tons.... ... . .' 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses. 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 



61 

2,358 

4,134 

4,737 

57 

132 

7 

10 

284 

1,351 

94 

,N12 



16 

48.011 

68,543 

213,836 

1,584 

1,387 

715 

1,010 

431 

1,853 

99 

2,233 

8 



i 640 
22,273 

56,389 

56,929 

1,115 

798 

536 

725 

3,140' 

13.643 

1,800) 

9,657 

64' 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 73 

BSES. — Stands of bees 7; pounds of honey 40, value $8. 

Wool. — Nunfber of sheep sheared L7,695; pounds of wool clipped 114,588, 
value $15,151. 

Live Stock.— Number of horses and mules 1,833, value $49,560; cattle 
12,540, value $87,892; jacks and jennets 5, value $310; sheep 13,437, value 
$13,234; goats 123, value $159. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 65 cents. 

MlscEIXANEOUS. — There are in the county 25 lawyers, 4 physicians, 3 
dentists, 35 mercantile establishments, 1 flour mill, 1 fire brick and tile 
manufactory. 

Wilbarger county has proven to be one of the healthiest counties in the 
Slate. No malaria, no yellow fever, no cholera, no mountain pneumonia, 
no consumption, no asthma. 

It is claimed that this is the best all-around farming country in all 
America, and particularly has it proven to be the country where the best 
average wheat crop is grown; the truth being that while Dakota has had 
60-bushel crops, she has also 2>i-bushel crops. The Government report 
some two years ago gave to Colorado the belt for the greatest average 
crop (21 bushels) in the United States. The closest figures give Wilbarger 
county a number of bushels more than this for an average of many years, 
extending over the driest years. 

VERNON 

Has a market better than Chicago; for Vernon is only 500 miles from tide- 
water, while Chicago is 1,000. Wheat is worth as much in Vernon as it is 
in Chicago. No wonder, upon the discovery of these remarkable facts, 
crowds of people are rushing to Vernon! No wonder that Vernon has 
grown in two years from 400 to 4,000! No wonder that lots which sold two 
years ago for $100, have since sold for $1,500! 

Vernon has a street car line. It is putting in water-works and an elec- 
tric light plant; has one roller mill and is going to have another. It will be 
a manufacturing center — a wholesale center; in ten years it will increase 
to a population of from 15,000 to 30,000, and perhaps reach the first figure in 
four or five years. 

HARDEMAN COUNTY 

Was made from Clay county in 1858. It was named in honor of the two 
hiot hers, Bailey and Thomas J. Hardeman. It is one of the tier of the Red 
River counties, having the South Fork of the Red River for its northern 
boundary, which separates it from Greer county. The principal industries 
of the people are farming and stock-raising. The soil of the county is a 
sandy loam, and the surface is generally level. Pease River runs through 
the center of the county from west to east, which, with Prairie Dog Town 
River, Groesbeck, Wanderers', Beaver, Good, Paradise, and several other 
smaller creeks, furnishes ample water supply for all purposes in ordinary 



74 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



seasons. The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the Union Pacific 
System passes through the north center of the county from east to west. 

The Methodist, Baptist, Christian, and Presbyterian churches are each 
represented by church organization. 

The county was organized in 1884, and contains an area of 1,180 square 
miles. Margaret is the county seat, population 500. The other principal 
towns in the county are: Quanah, population 600; Chillicothe, population 
50; Kirkland, population 15; Yampareka, population 20. 

Value op Pboperty. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
■11,710,984; in 1888, 12,436,874. Increase, 1725,890. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from 13 to 17 per acre, unimproved for 
from 11.25 to 15.50 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the 
county is 12.20 per acre. Acres State school land in county, 174,825. 

Newspapers. — There is one weekly newspaper published in the county. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 355, with 5 
school houses, and gives employment to 9 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White — males 157.50; females 132.80. Total number of pupils en- 
rolled during the year was 202, and the average length of school term 45 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels. 
Irish Potatoes, bushels. . 

Peas, bushels 

Beans, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 



159 

4,035 

1,496 

2,609 

60 

128 

175 

168 

6 

109* 
20 
716 
811 



Product. 



51 

28,345 

16,004 

46,720 

1,770 

1,037 

8,738 

8,700 

80 

10 

190 

18 

950 

2,386 

25 



Value. 



$ 2,040 

13,298 

10,536 

21,323 

804 

706 

4,609 

4,350 

81 

10 

915 

777 

4,298 

11,682 

200 



Bees. — Stands of bees 6; pounds of honey 140, value 113.20. 

Wool. — Number of sheep sheared 2,180; pounds of wool clipped 6,000, 
value 11,072. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 3,400, value 90,556; cattle 
52,400, value 1359,936; jacks and jennets 6, value 1580; sheep 2,654, value 
12,655; goats 241, value 1185. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the 1100 valuation for 
1888 was 57)4 cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 11 lawyers, 4 physicians, 1 
dentist, 18 mercantile establishments, 2 beer dealers. 

GREER COUNTY 
Was formed in 1860 from Clay county. It is situated in the forks of the 
Prairie Dog Town Fork and the North Fork of the Red River. The former 



THE TEXAS TAX HANDLE. 75 

is claimed by the United States Governmenl as the boundary between Texas 
and the Indian Territory, the lattex by the State of Texas as the correct 
boundary. The boundary question is still a disputed one, both the State 
mid the National Government Claiming the territory. The county contains 
large bodies of agricultural land of a rich soil. It is a 'black and chocolate 
sandy on the uplands, and a dark loam on the river and creek bottoms. It 
Is one of the best watered COuntie8 in the State. The interior part is 
watered by the Elm Fork of the Red River, North and South Forks of Elm, 
North. South, and Little Turkey, Fra/.ier, Boggy. Sandy. Bitter, Bull, and 
Station creeks, and a large number of smaller streams, which flow in a 
southeasterly direction. The northwestern portion of the county is mount- 
ainous. There are, too, a few abrupt elevations on the North Fork of the 
Med Biver. The balance of the area of the county is level or slightly 
rolling. 

The Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Christian, and Methodist churches have 
church organizations in the county. 

The county was organized in 188(5, and contains an area of 2,462 square 
miles. Mangum is the county seat, population 300. The other principal 
towns are: Navago, population 75; Fra/.ier, population 50; Quartz City, 
population 25. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
f 1,110, 266; in 1888, $1,205,732. Increase, $95,466. 

Lands. — The average taxable value of land in the county is 57 cents per 
acre. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 514, with 5 
school houses, and gives employment to 6 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: $35. Total number of pupils enrolled during the year was 148, and 
the average length of school term 70 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Cotton, bales 

Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Barley, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Peas, bushels 

Beans, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Hav, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sugar Cane, barrels syrup 

Sorghum Cane, barrels molasses. 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Cotton Seed, tons 



Acres. 



69 

1,730 

247 

408 

86 

40 

35 

32 

45 

39 

5 

,032 

377 

6 

120 

,208 



Product. 



12 

43,247 

3,624 

10,126 

1,015 

697 

3,138 

1,598 

665 

325 

5 

1,301 

473 

4 

112 

7,238 

6 



Value. 



$ 460 

21.534 

3,195 

3,642 

1,115 

563 

2,204 

1,617 

1,158 

826 

40 

7,265 

2,866 

60 

1,120 

50,528 

48 



Bees. — Stands of bees 9; pounds of honey 50, value $7.50. 
Wool.. — Number of sheep sheared 15,300; pounds of wool clipped 129,000, 
value $10,700. 



76 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 3,250, value $79,777; cattle 
65,014, value $456,671; jacks and jennets 4, value $570; sheep 6,356, value 
$4,898; goats 151, value $147. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for ' 
1888 was 50 cents. 

Miscellaneous — There are in the county 7 lawyers, 4 physicians, 11 
mercantile establishments, 1 ice factory. 

CHILDRESS COUNTY 

Was named in honor of George C. Childress, the author of the Declaration 
of Texan independence It was made in 1876 from Fannin county. It is 
one of the newly organized counties, and is situated west of and adjoining 
Greer county. Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red River, which is claimed by 
the United States Government as the boundary between Texas and the 
United States, passes through the county near the center. The South Fork 
of Red River and the tributaries of Pease River water the southern portion 
of the county. The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the 
Union Pacific System runs through the county from east to west. 
The general surface is undulating prairie land with forests of tim- 
ber on the water-courses. The people are engaged in farming and 
stock-raising, which is the chief source of wealth in the county. The cli- 
mate of the county is finely adapted to the successful raising of stock, 
while all farm products are grown with marked success. The soil is a black 
and red loam and is highly productive 

The Methodist and Baptist ehurches are each represented by church 
organization in the county 

The county was organized in 1887, and contains an area of 758 square 
miles. Childress is the county seat, population 300. 

Value of Property — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$1,045,964; in 1888, $1,434,402. Increase, $388,438. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $2.50 to $5 per acre, unimproved 
for from $2 to $3 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county 
is $1 86% per acre. Acres State school land in county, 123,640. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 102, and gives 
employment to 1 school teacher. Average wages paid teachers: Whi te — males 
$50. Total number of pupils enrolled during the year was 22, average attend- 
ance 9, and the average length of school term was 30 days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Corn, bushels 

Wheat, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Rye, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels. 
Irish Potatoes, bushels.. 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, tons 



Acres. 



Product. 



268 


2,026 


$1,204 


51 


671 


705 


109 


3,505 


1,434 


27 


343 


169 


1 


100 


91 


Vt 


11 


15 


92 


75 


726 


606 


803 


8,365 



Value. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



77 



Live Stock. — Horses and mules, 585, value $18,675; cattle 36,647, value 
1306,865; goats 185, value $160. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation 
for 1888 was 62}^ cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 3 lawyers, 2 physicians, 8 
mercantile establishments. 

DONLEY COUNTY 

Was made in 1876, from Bexar county, and was named in honor of Stockton 
P. Donley, one of the early supreme judges of Texas. It is situated west of 
Greer county, from which it is separated by Collingsworth county. The 
people are engaged largely in stock-raising There are a few farms in the 
county, however, on which are raised the cereals common to the State. The 
county is watered by the Middle Fork of Red River, and Carroll, Barton, 
Whitefish, Sadler's, Mulberry, Hall, Lake, Oak, Kelly, Skillet, Reckerd, and 
Allan creeks. The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the Union Pacific 
System passes through the southwestern portion of the county in a north- 
westerly direction. 

The Methodist, Episcopal, and Presbyterian churches each have church 
organization in the county. 

The county was organized in 1882, and contains an area of 900 square 
miles. Clarendon is the county seat, population 600. The other principal 
town in the county is Old Clarendon, population 100. 

Value of Property — The assessed value of all property in 1887, $815,- 
325; in 1888, $1,286,905. Increase, $471,580. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $5 to $10 per acre, unimproved for 
from $2 to 83 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county is 
$1.57 per acre. Acres State school land in county, 205,120. Acres of land 
subject to pre-emption, 2,000. 

Banks. — There is one private bank in the county. 

Newspapers. — There are 2 weekly newspapers published in the county. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 103, with 1 school 
house, and gives employment to 1 teacher. Average wages paid teachers: 
White — female $69.37. Total number of pupils enrolled during the year 
was 36, average attendance 15, and the average length of school term 160 
days. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Corn, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Pumpkins, number 

Turnips, bushels 

Sorghum Cane, tons . . . 

Onions, bushels 

Alfalfa, tons 



Acres. 


Product. 


100 


300 


2 


150 


500 


200 


5 


5,000 


4 


200 


100 


200 


a 


100 


25 


40 



Value. 



$ 400 
225 

1,600 
500 
250 

1,200 
200 
450 



78 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 1,028, value $29,890; cattle 
39,915, value $320,230. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 25 cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 6 lawyers, 3 physicians, 10 
mercantile establishments. 

WHEELER COUNTY 



Joins Greer county, and has the Indian Territory for its eastern boundary. 
The county was formed from Bexar and Fannin counties in 1876, and named 
in honor of Royal T. Wheeler, the second Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of Texas. The face of the county for the most part is rolling prairie. 
The North Fork of the Red River and Sweetwater Creek flow from west to 
southeast through the county. The water-courses are marked by a growth 
of timber. The soil is a rich sandy loam and very productive. Stock-rais- 
ing is almost the exclusive industry of the people. Very little farming has 
been done, and only in connection with stock-raising. 

The Methodist (Northern and Southern) and Presbyterian churches are 
represented by church organizations. 

The county was organized in 1879, and contains an area of 900 square 
miles. Mobeetie is the county seat, population 700. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$921,365; in 1888, $838,118. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $3 to $10 per acre, unimproved 
for from $1 to $3 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county 
is $1.62 per acre. Acres State school land in the county, 201,120. Acres of 
land subject to pre-emption, 6,400. 

Banks. — There is one private bank in the county. . 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 315, with 4 
school houses, and gives employment to 5 teachers. Average wages paid 
teachers: White — males $51.66, females $40. Total number of pupils 
enrolled during the year was 115, average attendance 83, and the average 
length of school term 67 days. 



PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Corn, bushels 

Oats, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons .-.', 

Sorghum Gane, tons. . 
Cotton Seed, tons , 



Acres. 



2,040 

586 

4 



334 

848 



Product. 



14,405 
6,530 
300 
2,S27 
1,003 
2,680 
7,202 



Value. 



$ 8,643 
2,612 
900 
10,789 
7,021 
36,800 
57.619 



Wool.— Number of sheep sheared 1,606; pounds of wool clipped 8,000, 
value $l.aot 



THE TEXAS PAN HANDLE. 79 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 913, value $30,290; cattle 
10,540, value$91,190; jacks and jennets l. value 8300; sheep 1, :.'(><>, value 
$1,200; goats 15, value si;,. 

County Finances.— The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation f or 
1888 was 85 cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 5 lawyers, :i physicians, 9 
mercantile establishments. 

POTTER COUNTY 

la one of the newly organized counties of the Panhandle. It, was formed in 
1876 from Bexar county, and named in honor of Robert Potter, Secretary of 
the Navy during the government <ni interim. It is situated in the north- 
western part of the State, on the line of the Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth 
Division of the Union Pacific System. The southern portion of Potter 
county consists of slightly undulating plains, known'as the plains of Llano 
Estacado. It has a rich, fertile soil of gresft depth, varying from a sandy to 
a black loam, which is well adapted to the growth of grain. The county 
is well watered. The Canadian River flows through the northern portion. 
This stream is augmented by several tributaries — Amarillo, Bonita, and 
Turkey creeks being the most important smaller streams traversing the 
county. There are several lakes of fresh water in the county, some of 
which are tilled with water throughout the year. Farming as a distinct 
calling is not followed, there being less than 100 acres cultivated in the 
county. Stock-raising engrosses the attention of the people. 

The Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian churches are each repre- 
sented by church organization. 

The county was organized in 1887, and contains an area of 900 square 
miles. Amarillo is the county seat, population 1,000. The other principal 
town in the county is Wheeler, population 25. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$342,700; in 1888, .$1,458,520. Increase, $1,115,826. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $4 to $7 per acre, unimproved for 
from $1 to S3 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county is 
$2.01 per acre. Acres State school land in the county, 189,480. Acres land 
subject to pre-emption, 1,280. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 859, value, $30,980; cattle 
33,489, value $333,890; sheep 150, value $400; goats 50, value $100. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 60 cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 9 lawyers, 2 physicians, 1 
dentist, 6 mercantile establishments. 

HALE COUNTY 

Is situated in the center of the Llano Estacwlo, or Staked Plains, and is one 
level prairie from center to circumference, almost every acre of which can he 
cultivated. It has no rivers, creeks, hills, mountains, or forests. The only 



80 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



water-courses of any kind arc from slight depressions called " draws," which 
trend from the northwest to southeast, and one of which, the Running Water 
Draw, is a beautiful bold spring branch for twenty miles, where it sinks. 
The drainage consists of successions of saucer-shaped basins, varying in size 
from one to one thousand acres, and so situated as to form the most perfect 
drainage and yet retain every drop of rainfall. On this account a small 
rain does as much good here as a large rain does in a country where most of 
the water is carried away by creeks, branches, etc. Many of these basins 
hold water the year round, and hence are called surface lakes. In any of 
these draws water can be had by digging to a depth varying from 10 to 20 
feet, as pure as any spring, and a never-failing supply. The same class of 
water can be had anywhere on the highest points at from 25 to 60 feet. 

The soil is a very rich chocolate or dark sandy loam, and easy of cultivation. 
It ranges from one to three feet deep, and is underlaid with a stiff red clay 
The only natural product is a very luxuriant growth of mesquite grass, with 
now and then a fine crop of wild rye in the basins, which makes very good 
hay. Some farming is now being done, but the principal industry is stock- 
raising, stock remaining fat ten months in the year on the grass. Fruits 
and vegetables of almost every kind do well. Some irrigation is being done 
by means of wells and wind-mills, which is proving very satisfactory, as it 
is very cheaply and easily done. The county was organized August 5, 1888, 
and has a population of between 500 and 600. Plainview is the county seat, 
population 350. 

Lands. — Acres State school land in county, 278,400. Acres of land sub- 
ject to pre-emption, 49,926. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 88. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Wheat, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels. 
Irish Potatoes, bushels . . 

Peas, bushels 

Beans, bushels 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, tons — 



Acres. 


Product. 


o 


10 


4 


490 


1 


25 


1 


18 


H. 


5 


10 


10 


14 


16 


195 


325 



Value. 



$ 10 

530 

25 

33 

5 

80 

I »M 

3,150 



Wool. — Number sheep sheared 4,850; pounds of wool clipped 18,250, 
value $3,112. 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 809, value $15,245; cattle 
16,777, value $142,692; sheep 3,875, value $5,962. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
1888 was 47K cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in the county 2 lawyers, 4 mercantile estab- 
lishments. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



81 



CROSBY COUNTY 

Was created in L876 from Bexar county, and named in honor of Stephen 
Crosby, at one time Commissioner of the General Land Office. It is one of 
the group of small counties in Northwestern Texas. It is distinctly a 
stock-raising county, although farms are numerous and the agricultural 
products of the county form an important part of its wealth. 

The soil is a chocolate loam, and suited to the growth of field crops, 
vegetables, and fruits. The general surface of the county is prairie, with 
hills and valleys along the water-courses. White and Yellow House forks, 
prongs of the Brazos River, furnish the water supply of the county. 

The county is settled by a thrifty and law-abiding people. Crime is 
almost unknown. 

The Quaker and Methodist churches are each represented by church 
organization. 

The county was organized in 1886, and contains an area of 900 square 
miles. 

Estacado is the county seat, population 400. The other principal towns 
in the county are: Mt. Blanco, population 40; Silver Falls, population 20. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
$777,345; in 1888, SI, 386,529. Increase, $609,184. ■ 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $4 to $10 per acre, unimproved 
for from $1.50 to $5 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the 
county is $2 per acre. Acres State school land in county, 137,640. Acres of 
land subject to pre-emption 16,269. 

NEWSPAPERS. — There is one weekly newspaper published in the county. 

SCHOOLS. — This county has a total school population of 53, and gives 
employment to 2 teachers. Average wages paid teachers: White — males 
825, females $45; colored — males $45. Total number of pupils enrolled dur- 
ing the year was 32, average attendance 24, and theaverage length of school 
term 120 days. 

PRODUCT AN!) VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CHOPS. 



Corn, bushels 

Outs, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 

Irish Potatoes, bushels 

Hay, cultivated, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Pice Corn, bushels 

Sorghum Cane Seed, bushel*-. 



Acres. 



Product. 



30 
25 
1 
\ 

3 
42 

309 



Value. 



420 


% 420 


5<X) 


500 


135 


197 


10 


25 


3 


22 


40 


450 


445 


4,390 


145 


145 


210 


332 



Live Stock.— Number of horses and mules 827, value $26,225; cattle 
41,264, value $336,988; jacks ami jennets 19, value $95; sheep 4,187, value 
$6,280; goats 7. value $10. 

6 Texas 



82 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



County Finances 

1888 was 25 cents. 

Miscellaneous. — There are in 
cians, 9 mercantile establishments. 



The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 
the county 3 lawyers, 2 physi- 



OLDHAM COUNTY 

Takes its name in honor of Williamson S. Oldham, deceased, a distinguished 
jurist and orator of Texas. It is situated on the northwestern limit of the 
State, with New Mexico as its western border. It is also one of the third 
tier of counties, from the northern limit of the State. It was formed from 
Bexar county in 1876, and contains an area of 1,477 miles. The Canadian 
River flows through the northern part of the county, and with its tribu- 
taries furnishes water the whole year. The general surface of the county 
is undulating, with broken cliffs and ravines on the border of the streams. 
The soil of the county is variable, its red and black loam predominating. 
Agriculture as a distinct business is not engaged in, stock-raising being the 
principal industry. The Denver, Texas & Ft. Worth Division of the Union 
Pacific System passes across the northeast corner of the county, having a 
mileage of 21 miles in the county. Tascosa is the county seat, with a pop- 
ulation of 400. 

Value of Property. — The assessed value of all property in 1887, 
.$592,446; in 1888, $1,561,672. Increase, $969,226. 

Lands. — Improved lands sell for from $2 to $5 per acre, unimproved 
for from $1 to $3 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county 
is $1 per acre. Acres State school land in the county, 154,400. Acres land 
subject to pre-emption, 4,840. 

Newspapers. — There is one weekly newspaper published in the county. 

Schools. — This county has a total school population of 105, with 1 
school house, and gives employment to 1 teacher. Average wages paid 
teachers: White — males $75. Total number of pupils enrolled during the 
year was 60, average attendance 35, and the average length of school term 
100 days. The estimated value of school houses and grounds is $500, school 
apparatus $250, making the total value of school property $750. Total tui- 
tion revenue received from the State, $420. 

Farm and Crop Statistics. — There are 8 farms in the county: 4 farm 
laborers were employed on the farms of the county during the year, average 
wages paid being $25 per month. 

PRODUCT AND VALUE OF FIELD CROPS FOR 1888. 



CROPS. 



Corn, bushels 

Sweet Potatoes, bushels 
Hay, cultivated, tons... 

Hay, prairie, tons 

Millet, tons 

Sorghum Cane, tons 

Corn Fodder, tons 



Acres. 



2-2 



119 

209 
50 



Product. 


Value. 


190 


$ 135 


20 


20 


138 


1,350 


066 


6,785 


146 


1,660 


698 


6,494 


71 


426 



THE TEXAS PAN HANDLE. 83 

Live Stock. — Number of horses and mules 1,329, value $39,881; cattle 
71,753, value $539,118; jacks and Jennets 20, value $100; sheep 35, value $35; 
goats 1, value $4. 

County Finances. — The rate of county tax on the $ioo valuation for 

1888 was 87 ', cents. 

MISCELLANEOUS. — There are in the county 2 lawyers, 3 physicians, 2 
mercantile establishments. 

UNOIM i A X I ZED TERRITORY. 

In addition to these counties already noted, there is an immense tract of 
rich farming country as yet unorganized. There are in the Panhandle 
country thirty-two counties unorganized, containing an area of 32,600 
miles — room enough for millions of people. Of course under present condi- 
tions the gathering of statistics has been impossible. But the Commissioner 
of Agriculture esl imates that at the close of 1888 there were in these outly- 
ing districts 450,000 sheep, and that the wool clip for that year amounted to 
2.070,000 pounds. 

WEALTH AND PROGRESS. 

In the preceding pages has been given a brief history of several Pan- 
handle counties and their status in wealth at the present time. But this 
showing does not tell the story of the wonderful development, or the start- 
ling rapidity with which these counties leaped at a single bound from 
obscurity to prominence — from nothingness, at it were, to wealth and pros- 
perity. And this story is best told by dry figures, and figures, it is said, are 
sometimes eloquent; these are, certainly. If you can picture to yourself a 
county which was represented on the assessment rolls by a blank line from 
1871 to 1879, and then in that year was put down at a total valuation of 
§4, 147, you can see where one county stood a short ten years ago. But that 
same county had, according to the State Comptroller, at the close of 1888, 
$1,844,647 of taxable property. That is Wichita county, one of the grand- 
est counties in the Panhandle. It is submitted that the details of increased 
values which follow are not, nor have been, equaled in any portion of the 
Union for the same period of time. 

Tarrant county, 1871, $3,424,879; 1888, $12,516,021. 

Wise county, 1871. 1657,888; 1888, $4,378,653. 

Montague county, 1871, $372,7&5: isss, $3,944,488. 
. (nay county, 1871, ; 1874,199,256; 1888, $3,363,966. 

Archer county, 1871, ; 1876, 83,250; 1888, $1,169,932. 

Baylor county. 1871, ; 1874, $10,248; 1888, $1,792,361. 

Knox county, 1871, — ; 1874, $18,972; 1888. $1,657,688. 

Wilbarger county, 1871, ; 1874, $35,500; 1888, $2,327,773. 

Hardeman county. 1871, ; 1874, $61,720; 1888, $2,436,874. 

Greer county, is7l-isso, ; 1881, $78,600; 1888,8615,211. 

Childress county is one of the Panhandle wonders; it was represented in the Comptrol- 
ler's report by a blank line from 1871 to 1882, and in the last-named year showed a valuation 
of 82,600. The assessed valuation of the county for 1888 was $1,434,402. 

Collinqtcorth county, H71-1881, ; 1882, $58,505: 1888, $265,820. 

Cattle county, 1S71-1880, ; 1881,879,920; 1888, $420,a88. 

Motley county, 1871-1878, ; 1879, $42,734; 1888, 8757,072. 

Donley count' ii, 1871-1880, : 1881, $02,868; 18*8. $1,286,905. 

Wheeler county, is7i-is7s, ; is79. 826,122; isss. 8838,118. 

Armstrong county, is; 1-1880, ; iksi, $104,951 1888, $563,615. 

Potter county, 1871, ; 1879, $68,190; 1888, $1,458,526. 



84 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

Randall county, 1871-1880, ; 1881, $21,800; 1888, $330,994. 

Hale county, 1871-1882, ; 1883, $25,150; 1888, $223,574. 

Deaf Smith county, 1871-1886, ; 1887, $81,815; 1888, $116,655. 

Crosby county, 1871-1878, ; 1879,$26,215; 1888, $1,386,529. 

Parmer county, 1871-1887, ; 1888, $102,475. 

Oldham county, 1871-1878, ; 1879, $163,921, 1888, $1,561,672. 

Moore county, 1871-1883, ; 1884, $10,800; 1888, $108,030. 

Hartley county, 1871-1880, ; 1881, $28,067; 1888, $150,473. 

Dallam county, 1871-1S87, ; 1888, $124,715. 

Examples might be multiplied; but the foregoing will be sufficient to show 
any intelligent reader of statistics that the newly stimulated growth in pop- 
ulation and wealth in Texas between the periods named, advanced more rapidl y 
in the Panhandle country than in any other portion of the State. Where a 

county is set down as having reported , or "nothing," it is meant that 

the county within the dates fixed was unorganized, had no taxable wealth 
within its borders, could scarcely be called inhabited, and was used only for 
the sustenance of herds of cattle, or was given over entirely as a wilder- 
ness. The emerging of vast tracts like these from frontierism into the 
order and symmetry of organized government, the building of towns and 
cities, the raising of abundant crops, and all within the lapse of so few 
brief years, partakes somewhat of the marvelous, and calls for solid, sub- 
stantial facts in support of the assertions made regarding this extraordinary 
country- The facts presented are official and reliable. But the half has 
not been told of the country and its magnificent possibilities. 

SOME RANDOM NOTES. 

It has been asked by a few nervous souls, "Are we going to be safe in 
Texas if we go? " Safe from what? The same political equality exists there 
and under as vigorous protection as it does in Iowa. No man will question 
your right to speak and vote as you see fit in so far as your political princi- 
ples are concerned. There has been some small amount of feeble objection 
urged against this great empire because of its well-known pronounced 
political status; but to imagine that every new-comer is called upon to declare 
his faith, and be ostracised if he does not agree with other inhabitants, is a 
monstrous perversion of the truth, and an insult to those gallant Texans 
whose pride in their State amounts to an idolatry. You will find men there 
from almost every northern State, engaged in every department of trade 
and commerce; and if you have a particular "ism "or "ology" you can 
preach and practice it with as much freedom in Texas as you could in Ver- 
mont. "Tell the people," said that well-beloved executive, Governor 
Lawrence S. Ross, while speaking to the writer of these pages on this point, — 
" tell the people of the North they are welcome to Texas, and that in find- 
ing here a new home they shall lose nothing of their liberty, their free 
speech, nor their right to their political faith. I myself am from Iowa." 

SUFFRAGE. 

The following classes of persons are prohibited from voting in this 
State: — 

1. All persons under twenty-one years of age. 

2, Idiots and lunatics. 



THE TEXAS 1'AMIANDLE. 85 

3. Paupers supported by any county. 

4. Persons convicted Of any felony. 

5. Soldiers, marines, and seamen in the service of the United States. 

Every male citizen twenty-one years of age, subject to none of the fore- 
going disqualifications, who has resided in the State one year next preced- 
ing the election and the last six months within the district or county where 
he offers to vote, is a qualified elector. 

EXEMPTIONS FROM TAXATION. 

Farm products in the hands of the producer, and family supplies for 
home and farm use. 

Household and kitchen furniture to the value of $250, including a sew- 
ing-machine. 

All annual pensions granted by the State. 

All public property. 

Lands used exclusively for graveyards, or grounds for burying the dead, 
unless held by persons or corporations for profit. 

Buildings and lands attached thereto belonging to charitable or edu- 
cational institutions, and used exclusively for charitable or educational 
purposes. 

EXEMPTIONS FROM FORCED SALE. 

A homestead worth $5,000 exclusive of improvements, if in a town or 
•ity; if in the country, 200 acres, including improvements and crops grow- 
ing thereon, except for part or all of the purchase money thereof, the taxes 
due thereon, or for material used in constructing improvements thereon, and 
in this last case only when the work and material are contracted for in writ- 
ing, with the consent of the wife given in the same manner as is required in 
making a sale and conveyance of the homestead. 

All household and kitchen furniture, and all provisions and forage on 
nam! for home consumption. 

Any lot or lots in a cemetery for the purpose of sepulture. 

All implements of husbandry, and all tools, apparatus, and books 
belonging to any trade. 

The family library and all family portraits and pictures. 

Five milch cows and their calves, and two yoke of work oxen, with neces- 
sary yokes and chains. 

One gun, two horses and one wagon, one carriage or buggy, and all 
saddles, bridles, and harness necessary for the use of the family. 

Twenty head of hogs and twenty head of sheep. 

All current wages for personal services. 

WEIGHTS OF FARM PRODUCTS. 

By an act of the Eighteenth Legislature, approved April 10, 1883, the 
following was established as the legal weight per bushel of farm products: — 

Wheat, 60 lbs.; corn, shelled, 56 lbs.; corn on ear, husked, 70 lbs.; corn, 
unhusked. on ear. 72 lbs.; oats, 32 lbs.; barley, 48 lbs.; rye, 56 lbs.; buck- 
wheat, 42 lbs.: white beans, 60 lbs.; Irish potatoes, 60 lbs.; sweet potatoes, 



86 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

55 lbs.; onions, 57 lbs.; turnips, 55 lbs.; dried apples, 28 lbs.; dried peaches, 
28 lbs.; bran, 20 lbs.; Hungarian grass seed, 48 lbs.; hemp seed, 44 lbs.; flax 
seed, 56 lbs.; stone coal, 80 lbs.; charcoal, 22 lbs.; salt, 50 lbs.; clover seed, 
60 lbs.; timothy seed, 45 lbs.; cotton seed, 32 lbs.; millet seed, 50 lbs. 

LEGAL RATE OF INTEREST. 

The legal rate of interest fixed by the Constitution of 1870 is eight 
per cent. A rate not exceeding twelve per cent may be charged, if speci- 
fied in the contract. Any higher rate is usurious, and the principal alone 
can be recovered in case usury is pleaded. 

A TEXAS FULL HAND. 

Timber 46,302,500 acres 67,508,500,000 feet. 

Wheat— annually 400,000 acres 4,173,700 bushels. 

Cotton 4,000,000 acres 1,730,000 bales. 

Corn 3,000,000 acres 63,416,300 bushels. 

Oats 375,000 acres 14,810,100 bushels. 

Horses and mules ■ 1,229,690 head 33,166,329 dollars. 

Cattle 7,081,976 head 51,008,550 dollars. 

Sheep and goats 4,878,301 head 5,601,280 dollars. 

Hogs 1,040,929 head 1,241,655 dollars. 

EDUCATED FARMERS, 

Read the nobly worded statement of the Texas Agricultural College (page 
50) in outlining its policy, and mark the sound common sense brought to 
bear on the subject. 

COLONIES. 

" Parties desirous of ascertaining facts about locations for colonies will 
receive all necessary information by addressing any of the following 
persons: — 

En. L. McDonotjgh. Secretary Hartley County Colony, Hartley, Hartley 
county, Texas. 

N. C. Blanc hard, President Iowa-Panhandle Colony, Salisbury, Hall 
county, Texas. 

J. Kennedy, President Iowa-Texas Colony, Iowa Park, Wichita county, 
Tejcas. 

Nebraska-Iowa Colony, Henrietta, Clay county, Texas. 

Thomas McConnell, Dakota-Texas Colony, Sunset, Montague county, 
Texas. 

Illinois-Texas Colony, Chillicothe, Hardeman county, Texas. 

General R. A. Cameron, Commissioner of Immigration, Fort Worth, 
Texas. 

HEALTH AND PLEASURE. 

Texas is exceptionally well situated for climatic influences, without those 
extremes of cold and heat that endanger life from pulmonary affections 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 87 

induced by the former, and fever and malarial troubles by the latter. The 
mean annual temperature of •'><» is favorable to human health as it is tti plant 
life. In the river bottoms, where there is rapid decomposition of organic 

matter, under elevated temperature in a moist atmosphere there will always 
be malaria: so too. where new land is being opened ui> the poison lurks; but 
a due Observance of simple sanitary laws obviates all occasion for contract- 
ing the fevers which t hough painful, are rarely fatal. The cooling fresh 
breezes from the Gulf do much to weaken ami dissipate malaria. Most of 
Texas, however, is prairie or woodland, and consequently vital statistics show 
her great healthful ness. The death rate is only about 13 annually for each 
thousand inhabitants, as against '.".' in England, 14 in Pennsylvania, and 15 
in all the United States. 

Every year thousands of people from the blizzard-blighting West and icy 
North come to San Antonio, Boerne. and Austin, and to the El Paso and 
Panhandle sections, for recuperation, and often experience recovery where 
the bronchial, catarrhal or asthmatic troubles have not already made too 
great Inroad. California cannot excel Texas in this important respect, lie- 
sides, a board of health is organized in nearly every city and town, who 
require attention to thorough sanitation and health improvement. 

The entire section of country in New Mexico lying contiguous to this 
Division of the Union Pacific System, from the Summit to the Sea, is especially 
favored with respect to its climatic influences. The Raton Mountains, a 
spur range extending eastward from the mighty Rockies, enclose this 
region on tin- north — an impassable barrier to the cold northers experienced 
farther east and south, while the main range of the Rockies, the back-bone 
of the continent, stands sentinel to the west. Sheltered thus, lies what is 
known as the upper plains country at an altitude rising gradually from 
2,800 to 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. 

So conducive is the climate here to the healing of disease, that the rail- 
way company have selected Texline as the point for their hospital for 
employes, which is now being erected. Texline and Folsomare each amply 
provided witli accommodations for the seeker after health, which is sure to 
be found here. 

Every breath of air is as pure and clear as the vaulted arch of bright, 
cloudless skies above, impregnated with life and health. The scenery is 
imposing, — Capaulin, an instinct volcano cone, rising majestic above the 
town of Folsom. Water, pure, cool, clear, and refreshing, is abundant, 
while all the surroundings are of a character to cheer the drooping spirits 
and revive hopes sure to be realized in complete deliverance from the blight- 
ing grasp of consumption, whose embrace is fatal in any other climate. 

After crossing the Raton Range, this Division extends northward through 
the cities of Trinidad, Pueblo, Colorado Springs, and Manitou to Denver. 
thus affording the seeker after health a breadth of country over three hun- 
dred miles in extent, every portion of which is embraced within the limits 
of these essential climatic influences in a greater or less degree. 



88 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

HUNTING AND FISHING. 

Game. — Buffalo, once abundant, are now things of the past. The deei* 
and the antelope that leap the plains of Western Texas are the largest and 
best game. Fire-hunting, still-hunting, and driving with hound and horn, 
are the three modes of securing them. Wild turkeys afford a favorite sport 
to the early riser in the gobbling season of the spring. Geese, brant, and 
ducks are yet plentiful on the seashore, the rivers, and the creeks. But 
the prairie hen and the quail abound, and the markets of the leading cities 
are kept well supplied with their delicious meat. Rabbits, coons, squirrels, 
opossum, and foxes are found in all sections. Prairie dogs are plentiful, 
but are never eaten, although their meat is said to be tender and sweet, 
from the herbs they live on. The prejudice against the name doubtless 
destroys desire. 

Fish. — In Texas waters, salt and fresh, almost every fin that parts the 
waves is to be found, and few markets are better supplied than are ours 
with these swimmers of the sea and dwellers in the rivers. The red fish, 
red snapper, jew, sheephead, flounder, pompano, Spanish mackerel, rock, 
white, trout, perch, carp, buffalo, bass, cat, eel, are all to be had by the pro- 
fessional or the amateur with his rod and line. In the State there are 
numberless private ponds and tanks, where fresh water species are raised 
by the million without cost. Oysters of the finest kind are to be had all 
along the coast, and the interior is kept well supplied with them, and also 
with crabs and shrimps. 

THIS NEW EMPIRE. 

General R. A. Cameron, of Ft. Worth, the veteran Commissioner of 
Immigration, talks in this breezy, half-humorous, wholly earnest way about 
the glories of the Panhandle country: — 

" We desire to call your attention to the Panhandle of Texas, and to the 
homes of happiness, prosperity, health, and wealth offered there for a 
million people. 'Texas! I've heard all about Texas, and don't want any 
Texas in mine ! ' you exclaim. Oh, yes. my friend, you've heard about 
Texas, but not all about it; neither is the Texas you've heard about and 
which you are now thinking of, the Texas we are talking about. Your 
general idea of Texas is to some extent a very erroneous one, and derived 
from a rather incomplete knowledge of the subject. The domain of the com- 
monwealth of Texas is much larger and more varied than you probably 
imagine, although you may credit it with being the largest State in the 
Union. Jnst take a map in your hand for a moment, and see where the 
Texas we're talking about is located. This is the new Texas — The Texas 
Panhandle— containing within its borders a greater area than either the 
State of Ohio or Pennsylvania. Until recently, this Texas has been almost 
unknown to the public at large. 

"You have heard of Oklahoma? You have heard that it is but little short 
of Paradise? Yes? Well, all you have heard is true, but you cannot get 
any more land there at present. You can occupy the Panhandle country, 
however, and it is in every essential element a part of Oklahoma. The Pan- 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 89 

handle lies just wesl and south of this forbidden land, and is separated from 
it only by tin- Bed River and an imaginary line. If the Oklahoma country 
wen- all open to settlement to-day. every available acre would be occupied 
In less than six months. The Texas Panhandle country has only within the 
past year been opened and made accessible to settlers by the building of a 
greal trunk line railroad through it, from Denver, Colorado, to Fort- Worth. 
Texas— from the Summit to the Sea. How long do you .suppose it will be 
before the millions of acres in the Panhandle along the line of the Denver. 
Texas & Fort Worth Railroad, that can be purchased to-day at from $2 to 
|3 an acre, will briny s:{<) and none for sale at, that price? 

•• Hut you say. you have heard all about Texas. You have heard of the 
yellow fever, dengue, malaria, swamps, alligators, cow-boys, pistols, and 
'knives, and the host of other dangerous agencies which prejudice and per- 
sonal interest have located within the bounds of this great commonwealth 
to torment and terrify those who think of locating in our mild and health- 
ful climate. My friend, when you reach the Texas Panhandle, you will 
find all these vaunted terrors located still farther on in that great West. 
whose boundaries no one has yet been able to define. We have no yellow 
fever, and cannot have it, because our altitude is above that in which the 
existence of yellow fever microbes is possible; cholera, dengue, malaria, 
and consumption, too, cannot exist here. We have no wild beasts and alli- 
gators or other reptiles, and a great mistake is made when the swamps and 
barren sand-dunes so common to low lands are named as characteristics of 
the Panhandle country. You will find no swamps in countries ranging 
from 1,000 to 4,000 feet above the sea, as ours does. 

"We carry no knives or pistols, and the general tone of our civilization 
Is very different from that erroneous ' wild and woolly West' idea which 
many eastern newspapers are inclined to have of Texas. In the north and 
east they fine a man for carrying concealed weapons. We do more — we 
both fine and imprison for that offense. We build churches as fast as we 
make villages, and organize schools as soon as we have the children to 
be educated. Texas in 1887 expended $2,278,000 to support her free 
schools. You will find that our settlements compare favorably in most 
respects with the neighborhoods we left behind us in New York, Virginia, 
Iowa, or Kentucky. This country is filling up almost exclusively with 
white people, and race prejudices and antagonisms will be unknown 
among us. 

"The outside world does not begin to realize the extent and variety of 
our agricultural resources. We can raise here the hardy cereals of the north 
without the periodical visitation of blizzards and northers which the farm- 
ers of Dakota and Montana have to contend with, and many of the products 
of the more tropical south without their attendant climatic drawbacks. In 
wheat-growing our country equals Minnesota or Oregon, and our crop sells 
at home for a price within two cents of Chicago prices. We can grow as 
much corn as they do in Kansas, and of as good a quality. Sorghum. 
Johnson grass, and cotton we can raise just as well as they do in Texas 
proper, and our peach region equals that of Delaware. The grapes of the 
El Paso are no finer than those we grow. We have, in fact, to state it 



90 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

briefly, the soil of Oregon and the market of Ohio. For health-seekers the 
upper portion of our Panhandle country is equivalent to that of Colorado, 
and superior to that of California. 

" All we ask of you now is to come and see this new country at once, or 
club together and send one of your number to explore it for you. We are 
sure that as soon as you are well informed as to the nature and resources of 
our country, you will at once put aside all your old prejudices, which are 
due to misinformation, and gladly join with us in establishing happy homes 
in what will one day be the most prosperous and wealthy region in the 
Union." 

WAGES AND COST OF LIVING. 

The cost of living, in nearly any part of Texas, is about the same as in 
the Middle and Western States: Bacon is 8 to 10 cents per pound, beef 3 to 
6 cents, pork 4 to 7 cents, corn 30 to 50 cents per bushel, flour $3 to $3 per 
hundred pounds. Work horses sell for from $30 to $75, mules $60 to $100, 
oxen $40 to $60 per yoke. 

Wood costs from $3.00 to $4.50 per cord (post oak shipped from the 
"cross timber" country by railroad); coal, from $4.50 to $6.00, an excellent 
article shipped from Trinidad, Colo. There is plenty of choice valley land 
to be had which fronts on the rivers or streams, and has considerable timber 
thereon. Good pine lumber for building purposes can be had for $30 per 
1,000 feet. This is shipped in from East and South Texas. 

The expense of living in Northwestern Texas and the Panhandle country 
for 

THOSE WHO BOARD 

Is not much different from other States. Hotels charge $5 to $8 per week; 
boarding houses $4 to $6. Day board may be had for from $3 to $5 per 
week. Furnished rooms can be rented at from $5 to $10 per month. House 
rents are from $8 to $15 per month for cottages of 3 to 5 rooms, or $18 to $35 
for houses of 6 to 8 rooms. 

The average wages paid per month to laborers and employes are: .To 
bakers, $60; blacksmiths, $65; book-keepers, $90; brick masons, $100; cabi- 
net makers, $70; carriage makers, $65; carpenters, $65; chair makers, $65; 
cigar makers, $65; coopers, $70; cotton and day laborers in general work, 
$30 to $35 per month; dress makers, $30; salesmen in stores, $60; bar keepers, 
$75; engineers (stationary), $75; farm hands, with board, $17; female house 
servants, $13; female cooks, $15; male cooks $50; gardeners, $40; hotel 
clerks, $60; hatters, $65; harness makers, $65; jewelers, $100; millers, 
flouring, $90; millers, sawyers, $75; milliners, $35; moulders in iron and 
brass, $75; painters, $65; plasterers, $75; paper hangers, $75; planing and 
saw mill hands, $50; quarrymen, $45; section hands on railroads, $30; stone 
cutters, $75; stone masons, $75; telegraph operators, $60; tinners, $75; tail- 
ors, $60; wagon makers, $65; wheel wrights, $75; teachers in free schools, 
$35 to $75, according to grade. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 91 

WICHITA FALLS PRICE LIST. 

The following prices are quoted from the Wichita Falls Herald for that 
place and vicinity at the present time (.June, 1890): — 

Retail Makkkt. — Eggs, 10 to 15 cts. per doz.; chickens, 83.50 to $3 per 
do/..: turkeys, 50 to 75 cts. each; butter, 20 to 35 cts. per lb.; cheese, 20 to 
25 ets. per lb.; beef. ;, to 15 cts. per lb.; mutton, 8 to 15 cts.; pork, 8 to 12 
Cts.; sweet potatnes. 60 to T."> ets. per bu.j Irish potatoes, 75 cts. to 1 perbu.i 
native hay, $8 to $10 per ton; fresh fish — such as cat, perch, or bass — 6 to 10 
cts. per lb.: choice Hour (from winter wheat grown here), $2.25 to $2.75 per 
cwt.; corn meal, §1.25 per cwt.; lumber, §18 per M. for rough, and $20 to $22 
for dressed and finishing. 

Furniture, farming implements, etc., may be purchased at about the 
same price as in the older States, with the addition of freight. 

The above quotations are about the average prices for 1889-90. 

The following are the prices received by the farmers of the Wichita 
Falls country this year (1890): Wheat, 70 to 80 cts. per bu.; oats, 25 to 35 
ets.: corn. 35 to 40 cts.: hay, $6 to $8 per ton; wool, 16 to 18 cts. per lb.; 
cotton, 8 to 9% cts. per lb.; Irish potatoes. 50 to 75 cts. per bu.: sweet 
potatoes, 45 to 65 cts. 

WHAT TO BRINO WITH YOU. 

It is not necessary to bring your household goods, as furniture can 
be obtained here at about the same price, with the freight added. The 
same is true of farming tools. However, where several families are moving 
together, and they cannot dispose of these things without loss, it might be 
well to charter a car and ship their goods together. 

It will pay to ship good improved stock to this section, as the demand 
for line stock is rapidly increasing in Texas. 

WAGES. 

The prices paid for labor in the Panhandle country and Northwest Texas 
are about as follows, although, as elsewhere, tradesmen are paid according 
to their ability: — 

Per day: Carpenters, $2.50 to $3; brick layers, $4 to $4.50; house painters, 
$3; sign painters, $3.50 to $4; day laborers, $1.50 to $2; stone cutters and 
masons, $4 to $5; plasterers, $4.50; printers, $2.50 to $3.50; blacksmiths, $3 to 
$3.50; gunsmiths, $3.50; upholsterers, $3 to $3.50. 

Per month: Mill hands, $35 to $50; farm hands, $18 to $20; bakers, $45 to 
$55; store clerks, $40 to $75; book-keepers, $60 to $100. 

PANHANDLE TOWNS AND PRODUCTS. 

Colfax county, New Mexico, should be considered a part of the Panhandle 
country, being almost identical therewith in every essential clement as to 
soil and production, but the surface is more rolling and somewhat broken 
in the northern part by the mountains and foothills of the Raton Range. 



92 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

All the lands in New Mexico are Government lands, and subject to entry as 
homestead. 

The country in the immediate vicinity of the mountains is picturesque as 
well as fertile, and should not be overlooked by those seeking homes in this 
new country. The valley of the Cimmaron is a beautiful valley that promises 
to become a great agricultural region. 

The town of Folsom is located at the head of the valley where the road 
crosses the river, and has already a population of three hundred, and rapidly 
increasing. It is a new town, which promises to be the leading town in 
Northern New Mexico. It has also been selected as the feeding and water- 
ing point for cattle in transit between Texas and the northwest. A United 
States land office has been located here, and is doing a good business. A 
company has been formed to build an artificial lake, a large hotel, and some 
cottages, with the intent of making this beautiful region one of the finest 
health resorts. With a little development, the place can be made equal to 
the most popular. The extinct volcano El Capaulin is in sight of the hotel 
location. 

Clayton, nine miles from the Texas State line, has an immense area of 
agricultural territory tributary to it, and will doubtless become a city of 
thrift and importance in the near future. The climate here is mild, and laden 
with the invigorating qualities imparted by an altitude of 5,000 feet above 
the sea. 

Dallam county, Texas, is the extreme northwest county of the Panhandle. 
This county, and Hartley and Oldham, are to be considered together, and 
are each crossed by the Texas Panhandle Eoute. They are comprised in 
the large area known as the Capitol Syndicate Lands, and have been in the 
past given over to cattle-growing; hence but little can be said of practical 
farming. Wheat has as yet never been sown; but, should we judge from 
the appearance of the grasses, the yield from other grains, the average 
climate, the amount of rain-fall, and the results in adjoining counties, we 
would be justified in claiming that the whole region is, and we believe it 
will soon be proven to be, the wheat granary of the country. A. L. Matlock, 
Esq., Superintendent of the Capitol Syndicate Lands, tried some experi- 
ments last year at Buffalo Springs, which were entirely satisfactory. This 
was sixteen miles north of FaVwell, and on new land, first planting. He 
reports 35 bushels of oats to the acre; alfalfa, 2}£ tons; millet, 1% to 2 tons; 
sorghum, 3 tons; corn cut for fodder, 3 tons to the acre. Early potatoes 
planted April 1st yielded well, cabbage grew to weigh 26 pounds, and beets 
15 pounds. He had an abundance of carrots and parsnips, and melons, 
squashes and pumpkins grew to enormous size. Among the trees that are 
doing well are the locust, box elder, ash, Cottonwood and catalpa. Wheat 
is being tested this year, and promises well. 

Texline is a new town on the line of the railroad, just as you cross the 
border and enter Texas from New Mexico. It has a number of buildings 
and an excellent hotel. 

Hartley, which is to be the county seat of Hartley county, is another new 
town, having a hotel, stores and residences. It is the supply point for Cold 
Water, Sherman and the towns in the northern Panhandle. If the Cumber- 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 



93 



land Presbyterians of Illinois and Iowa carry out their present plans of im- 
proving the mineral spring just four miles from the town, they will make 
of it a greal summer resort for their Chautauqua. 

There are several good towns on the line of this road, which will, in the 
very near future, be the center of fine agricultural communities. Tascosa, 
the county seat of Oldham county, and the seat of government for all the 
organized counties adjoining, is one of the oldest towns in the Panhandle, 
having been laid out in 187(5. It is located in the valley of the Canadian 
River. They have a fine court-house, a stone structure, costing 3518,000. 
This bright little town has for years been the outfitting point for the various 
ranch head-quarters within a radius of one hundred miles. 

Cheyenne is one of those towns that have their success assured if they 
;are properly pushed. Here is a natural site for a town, and it is being 
utilized. Cheyenne Creek, a beautiful and swift-running stream, flows 
through the town. When the men with energy and money come along, 
Cheyenne comes to the front. 

Potter county is one of the central counties of the Panhandle. The 
Canadian River flows through the center of it, and, with its many tribu- 
taries, makes it one of the best-watered counties in North Texas. The 
surface is somewhat broken by reason of so many streams, which average 
in length from five to twenty miles, forming valleys of the choicest agricult- 
ural lands, while the slight elevations between afford good grazing lands, 
which are covered with a heavy growth of native grasses. This county is 
peculiarly adapted to dairy farming; the native grasses are equal for graz- 
ing to any in the world, and the native hay has no superior in Kentucky or 
elsewhere; the atmosphere is pure and the water excellent; gurgling springs 
of clear, cool water are found in all directions; in fact, those who are quali- 
fied to judge of such matters pronounce Potter county the "dairyman's 
paradise." The railroad will carry the dairy products to all parts of the 
world, and at all seasons of the year. Rut few farms have as yet been cul- 
tivated in this county, situated, as it has been, in the center of the great 
cattle region: but those few have shown the good quality of the soil and its 
capability of producing crops of corn and immense crops of small grain — 
wheat, rye, oats; garden vegetables of all kinds also grow in abundance. 
The pumpkin, squash, melon, and kindred species yield largely, growing 
almost without cultivation. 

Plum trees, grapes and berries grow wild along every creek, the grapes 
bearing in every season such quantities of large close clusters as to break 
down the branches of the trees on which they hang. This tends to show 
that as a fruit-growing country, this can bo excelled by none. 

Potter county has 600,000 acres of fine lands, three-fourths of which is 
agricultural land of the best quality, with 450 sections of school lands now 
upon the market for actual settlers. What greater inducements can there 
be for one who is seeking a home, when this land is offered him at $2 per 
acre, and that, too,<on forty years' time? 

The county has built its court-house, has purchased the best set of rec- 
ords in the West, and more than all, is out of debt. Its assessed valuation 
of 82, 000,000 for the year 1888, and its low rate of taxation of 60 cents on 



94 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

the $10,000, places it in the front rank of the Panhandle country In point of 
finances. Set apart for the exclusive use of the public schools of this 
county are 17,000 acres of land, which, when sold and augmented by the 
general State school fund, will give every facility desirable for the education 
of children. 

Amarillo, the county seat of Potter county, has now a population of seven 
hundred. Being situated on the crest of the lower plains, it has one of the 
most beautiful locations of any town on the line of the road, and gives 
promise of being a town equal to the important position given it, in the 
heart of a fine agricultural country. Col. Sanborn, one of the enterprising 
men of Texas, has erected a charming hotel, costing some $30,000, and 
Amarillo (pronounced Am-a-re-a in Spanish) is already a successful summer 
resort. The Palo Duro Canon, with its 300 feet walls, its cedar groves and 
waterfalls, is only twelve miles distant. The M. E. Church have located a 
college here, which in the near future will make Amarillo an educational as 
well as a health center. 

Armstrong county is rapidly taking place among the leading counties of 
the State sin.ce it has been rendered accessible by the Panhandle Route, 
which traverses its entire length diagonally. The most of this county is a 
rolling prairie, and the soil is a rich dark brown or black of great depth, 
giving assurance of bountiful harvests, without resorting to fertilization, 
for ages to come. This has been pronounced by farmers to be a wheat 
county in every essential element. The land which has been cultivated at 
the headquarters of the large ranches justifies the opinion. This county is 
well watered with running streams and lakes scattered over the country, 
which insures plenty of water for the settler in all seasons. The breaks of 
the Palo Duro are heavily wooded with an immense growth of magnificent 
cedars, and timber of fair quality is found in other breaks. The county is 
attached to Donley for taxation and judicial purposes. Prohibition is in 
force, with no probability of the ordinance ever being repealed, judging 
from the class of immigrants and settlers now here and coming into this and 
the other counties composing the district. 

Washburn is a new town, located at the junction of the Panhandle City 
branch with the main line, and is the geographical center of the Panhandle. 
This point is the natural gateway from Southern Kansas to the whole of the 
Panhandle country, as traversed by the Texas Panhandle Route. The con- 
tour of the country westward is such that the various lines of railway pro- 
jected across this country will of necessity be built through this vicinity. 
This fact will influence a very large immigration to this country. It is in 
the midst of the lower plains country — the grandest expanse of fertile 
prairie that the human mind can conceive. 

Claude is another promising town of this country, now rapidly growing, 
and has the advantage of a central location. So rapidly is this country grow- 
ing that we fear to promise State lands to home-seekers many months hence. 
Donley is the best watered county in the Panhandle, both in the abund- 
ance of surface water, ever-flowing springs, and easily accessible well 
water, all of which is soft and pure. The Middle Fork of Red River courses 
through this county, fed by numerous unfailing springs of freestone water. 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 95 

There are twenty-six creeks in the county flowing through the 150,000 
(estimated) acres of State lands awaiting occupation. The soil on the slopes 
on the prairie and valleys Is more sandy, and of a nature better adapted for 
the production of fruit and vegetables. Farming has been carried on to a con- 
siderable extent for the last four years, and has proved quite successful. 
There has not been a single year in the four that rain has not fallen in 
sufficient quantity to make good crops of small grain, sorghum, millet, and 
vegetables. The soil of the plains, which extends over quite a considerable 
portion of the county, is deep, fertile, and well adapted to raising small 
grain. It is estimated that 4,000 acres of land were cultivated in the 
county in 1887. The season was the driest that has ever been known. The 
yield was remarkable, corn averaging 30 bushels per acre; wheat, 15 bushels 
per acre; oats, 40 bushels per acre; and millet, 3 tons per acre. Irish pota- 
toes, sweet potatoes, and vegetables, especially root crops, yield abundantly. 

"Old Clarendon," the first county seat, is prettily located in the valley of 
the Salt Fork. It was settled about ten years ago, and was the only town 
in the county until the railroad was built through, and a new town estab- 
lished on the road about five miles south of the old one, to which all the 
business of the old town, including the court-house and jail, have been 
removed. The new town bears the name of the old one, and occupies a 
favorable location on a prairie, surrounded by low hills. Clarendon has 
been enjoying a healthy boom ever since it has been a town, and it will no 
doubt continue to prosper and hold its own among the best towns on the 
road, for several reasons, chief among which, perhaps, is that it is the 
county seat of a county that has been partially settled for several years, 
and is now rapidly settling up with a good class of settlers. In the 
next place,, to add to its importance as a railroad town, the company have 
made it the end of both passsenger and freight divisions, and located a 
large round-house and repair shops, which will give constant employment to 
a number of men, who, with their families, will help swell the population 
of the place. Still another reason is that the business men of this place 
are of that progressive, liberal-minded sort that give momentum to a new 
town and keep the wheels turning after it is once started. 

The line of the road crosses the northwest corner of Hall county. A 
great deal of this county has been occupied for stock range, but it has a 
large area of agricultural land in it. The soil is a red sandy loam, making 
a deep and lasting soil for agricultural purposes. The grasses are princi- 
pally sedge and mesquite, and a very rich grass growing about the ponds 
and dry lakes on the prairies. Active settlement is going on at a rapid 
rate. It is watered by the Palo Duro, or Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red 
River, which flows from west to east across the county, and by Mulberry, 
Morgan's, and Berkley creeks. These streams are constant in their water 
supply. At present this county is attached to Donley for taxation and judi- 
cial purposes, but an early separate organization is anticipated, The towns 
of Salisbury and Newlin are located in this county, which is as yet unor- 
ganized, and Salisbury will in all probability be the county seat. It already 
has a number of business houses and residences, and some two or three 
hundred inhabitants. The beauty of its location, surrounded as it is by a 



96 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

few picturesque hills, attracts the attention of the passer-by. The altitude, 
3,000 feet, while high enough for all practical health purposes, is not too high 
for persons troubled with heart diseases. 

Childress county has within her borders State school land to the extent 
of over 100,000 acres, which are being rapidly settled. The surface is 
mostly rolling prairie, with numerous fertile valleys through which the 
streams now, and lies at an altitude of 1,700 feet above the level of the sea: 
it is watered by Red River and numerous creeks of lasting water. There 
is no barren land in the county, the major portion being suitable for agri- 
cultural purposes. The soil is red sandy and chocolate-colored free loam, 
and the hills and breaks or "grazing lands" are well set with mesquite and 
black gramma grass. Farming was carried on to some extent last year, suf- 
ficiently to demonstrate the fact that wheat, oats, millet, sorghum, and 
vegetables of all sorts will grow to perfection, while plums and grapes grow 
wild in great abundance. Childress, the county seat, is a young town, its 
existence only dating back about two years. The town occupies a pretty 
location on a high prairie overlooking fertile valleys and verdant slopes. 
It is rapidly building up, and will soon be a town of considerable impor- 
tance. Being the county seat, it is attracting the attention of home-seekers 
and capitalists far and wide. It will also be the most convenient railroad 
point for settlers and ranchmen in adjoining counties, both north and south. 
The great town boom which is now on at Quanah, and which crowded 
Vernon to the front in 1889, must reach Childress by the present fall. It 
will progress with the settlement of the country, up the line of the railroad. 

Hardeman county is extensively settled by farmers, farming having been 
carried on to a considerable extent for about four years; the number of acres 
in cultivation has been increased each year during that time, owing to the 
success which attended the first experiments. Fully three-fourths of the 
county is agricultural land. The soil varies in color and condition from a 
red sandy loam in the river bottoms to a chocolate and black soil on the 
prairie and creek valleys. This diversity of soil adapts the country to the 
production of a variety of crops that have been tested with favorable 
results. Last year the different crops, as near as can be estimated, yielded 
as follows: Oats, 45 bushels per acre; wheat, 25 bushels per acre; corn, 35 
bushels per acre; millet, 3 tons per acre. Sorghum, Egyptian corn, and veg- 
etables of all sorts, and especially those of the vine and root species, pro- 
duce abundantly. The wheat sown in the county last fall (1889) is an 
increase of fully 300 per cent over the harvest of last year. As near as can 
be estimated, there are about 20,000 acres of wheat now growing in the 
county, and a more flattering prospect for a bountiful harvest was never 
seen anywhere. The area of the county is 854,400 acres, several thousand 
acres of which are school land that has not been taken up, and which can 
be purchased at from two to three dollars per acre. The country is watered 
by the Pease, Red and Wichita Rivers and numerous creeks. 

Quanah is the railroad town of the surrounding country. It is situated 
near the center of the county, and was started in the summer of 1886. The 
location of Quanah is one that cannot be excelled; it is built upon a prairie 
just sufficiently rolling to be easily drained. The soil is a dark loam, with 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 97 

enough adhesiveness about it to cause the streets to pack in such a solid 
condition that very littlw dust or sand is blown about in dry, windy weather, 
and there is enough sand to prevent them from becoming disagreeably 
sticky during wet weather. 

The country surrounding the town for several miles in all directions is 
composed almost entirely of agricultural land of unsurpassed fertility. 
The town is almost surrounded by beautiful valleys, through which flow 
streams with an abundance of ever-flowing water confined within rocky 
bluffs and high banks, and having a sufficient fall to make it a splendid 
water-power for the mills and factories that this and the adjoining counties 
will need and be able to support in a few years. There is an abundance of 
good building rock within three miles of the place, and a fine quality of 
brick clay can be found within half a mile, and in the near future there 
will be many permanent stone and brick buildings erected. 

We hardly think any town is growing as fast at this writing as Quanah. 
But the time will soon come when lots and lands will get too high, and then 
the interest will be farther up the road. 

We cannot pass Hardeman county without mentioning her copper depos- 
its in the south part of the county. A very extensive association was 
formed a number of years ago in New York and New Jersey, of which Gen. 
McClellan was made president, to work these deposits, but up to date no 
further work or development has been done. 

Wilbarger county, in the fall of 1887, obtained first premium on wheat 
at the Texas State Fair, and from that day all eyes have been turned 
toward that region. The county is old enough to have some good farmers, 
who report the following yield per acre of small grain, etc.: Corn, 53 
bushels; oats, 87 bushels; wheat, 36 bushels; millet, 37 bushels; and of cot- 
ton, 1 bale. There is but little timber, except on the streams. Mesquite 
and buffalo grass cover the country where not turned by the plow. 

Chillicothe is a new town on the line of Hardeman and Wilbarger coun- 
ties. The lands about it are universally spoken of as the most beautiful 
the sun ever shone upon. 

Vernon, the county seat, at the crossing of the railway with the Great 
Texas cattle trail leading to the northwest, has a population of 3,500, and 
is the distributing point for the adjacent portion of Texas and the Indian 
Territory. It has good banking facilities and hotel accommodations, and 
contains many substantial buildings. A handsome brick structure has 
been erected for a court-house, jail, and county offices, at a cost of $50,000. 
It has a good roller flouring mill, of 200-barrel capacity, some fine churches, 
and considerable capital. It has grown rapidly, increasing nearly 3,000 in 
two years. It is the largest town to-day between Decatur and Trinidad. 
Its rapid growth can be traced to good advertising. 

Between Vernon and Harrold is the new town of Oklaunion (which is to 
be re-named Wilbarger) in the center of the fine country we are speaking of, 
where the road crosses the Red River into the Indian Territory. It is a 
place of promise, but it needs pushing. 

The town of Harrold is centrally located in the county, and contains a 
population of about 500. With the growth of the surrounding country it 
will become a fine business point. 

The energetic town of Wichita Falls has been mentioned in the descrip- 
tion of Wichita county. The valley of the Wichita is one of great beauty 
and fertility, and has become famous for its crops. Wichita county 
received first premium for wheat at the State Fair at Dallas, on October 23, 
1889, and again at the International Fair at San Antonio, in competition 
with all the United States and Mexico, on November 13, 1889. It is now 
considered that this Panhandle country is the equal, as an average all-around 
wheat country, of any country on the face of the earth. 

Iowa Park is a new colony town, ten miles west of Wichita Falls, on the 
line of the railroad. The location is beautiful, and its people are full of 
7 Texas 



98 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

thrift and ambition. It has secured the location of a college, which is to 
be erected by the Methodist Episcopal church. It has a good hotel of 
which it can be justly proud. 

Beaver, sixteen miles west of Iowa Park, promises some day to become 
a village of importance. 

Clay county is traversed by the railroad diagonally through its center, 
and has a sixty-mile frontage on the Red River, besides which it is watered 
by the Big and Little Wichitas, and their tributaries, affording an abund- 
ance of water for stock and farming purposes. About one-fourth of its 
large area of 718,080 acres is covered by oak, pecan, ash, cottonwood, hack- 
berry, and other timbers. Nearly five-sixths of the area is good farming 
land, the soil being generally a deep red loam on the prairie, and a choco- 
late loam in the valleys. Springs are numerous, and good wells can be had 
at a depth of twenty-five feet. This was long considered one of the best 
stock-raising countries. Lands are cheap as yet, wild land being obtain- 
able at from four to seven dollars per acre. The yield per acre is as 
follows: Cotton, % to three-quarters of a bale; corn, 40 to 60 bushels; 
wheat, 20 to 40 bushels; oats, 50 to 90 bushels. Peaches, apricots, pears, 
apples, plums, and grapes are being cultivated very successfully. It is 
thought by those who have been experimenting with them, that grapes 
will, in the near future, be one of the principal products. Texas pecans 
are the finest in the world, and command the highest price in all markets. 
Dewberries and blackberries also grow of fine quality and in paying 
quantities 

There are thirty-two school districts in Clay county, twenty-eight of 
which have excellent schools in good and comfortable school buildings, fur- 
nished with modern furniture and the latest and most approved school 
books. The county has voted a special school tax, enabling them to main- 
tain the schools from eight to ten months in the year. The schools will 
compare favorably with any in the State, and are not far behind the best 
common schools of the older States. There is a magnificent high school 
building at Henrietta, which is justly the pride of the people. The build- 
ing and furniture cost $14,500, and there is an attendance of 350 pupils. 
Henrietta, the county seat, is the principal town in the county, with a pop- 
ulation of 3,000; it is beautifully situated on a sightly and healthful eleva- 
tion one and a half miles from the Little Wichita River, on the line of the 
railroad, ninety-six miles northwest of Fort Worth. A ©40,000 court-house 
has been completed about two years, and is the ornament and pride of the 
town and county. 

Montague county comprises an area covered by 570,240 acres of level or 
undulating uplands, diversified by broad valleys and high, rolling prairies. 
A belt of woodland, about 15 miles in width, known as the Upper Cross 
Timbers, runs nearly north and south through this county, and consists 
chiefly of post oak, hickory, and black-jack. Along the Red River and 
other streams is a heavy growth of water-oak, walnut, pecan and cotton- 
wood. The country is about equally divided between timber and prairie, 
and is somewhat broken, bordering the streams tributary to Red River, but 
the valleys skirting these small streams are very productive, the soil being 
a rich alluvial, sandy loam. It is separated from the beautiful Indian Ter- 
ritory only by the Red River. The county is well-watered, and is espe- 
cially adapted to agriculture and stock-raising combined. The mean annual 
rain-fall is 30.23 inches, and is usually so distributed that protracted 
drouths are uncommon. About four-fifths of this county is susceptible of 
profitable cultivation. 

Bowie is a thriving town. Many fine farms have been opened up. The 
extensive prairie on the west furnishes a fine supply of pasturage and hay, 
a large quantity of which is shipped from this point. The surrounding 
country is especially adapted to farming and stock-raising combined. The 
people are live and energetic, striving to advance the material interests and 
welfare of this city, and to make it second to none in the county. There 



THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 99 

are already established over seventy-five business firms, all of whom are 
doing as well, perhaps, as like enterprises in older cities. 

The town of Sunset is situated in the southwestern part of Montague 
county, sixty miles north of Fort Worth, and Is one of the most healthy and 
picturesque locations to be found along the line. It is surrounded by as 
fine agricultural lands as are to be found anywhere in the State. The 
town is supplied with wells of never-failing water, as pure as can be found 
in any of the old States. Timber for fuel is cheap, and the supply sufficient 
for all purposes. First-class pine lumber can be bought here at from $16 to 
sis per thousand. A tine sandstone quarry is being opened up only one and 
one-half miles from the town, affording the finest building material in the 
world at a nominal price. The farmers in this vicinity are enjoying a 
degree of prosperity never before attained in this county. Sunset mer- 
chants and business men have done a prosperous and lucrative business in 
all the various branches of trade — not a single failure having occurred in 
two years — and the town and surrounding country has continued to thrive 
and improve in a wonderful degree. There is nowhere a more happy and 
contented people, with brighter prospects for future prosperity, than in this 
portion of Montague county. 

Sunset is about the center of one of the finest fruit regions to be found 
anywhere. The peach, grape, pear, plum, cherry, apricot, blackberry, and 
even the apple yield abundantly, and all commence bearing early. The 
tomato, sweet potato, and water-melon yield immensely, and are very profit- 
able. A canning factory is being built to use up the surplus not shipped 
to the mountain market. 

The Texas Panhandle Route enters Wise county near the northwest 
corner, and crosses it diagonally, leaving near the southeast corner. The 
eastern portion is similar to Tarrant in character of soil. It contains 
27,000 population, and 576,000 acres, the county being 30 miles square. 
Along the line of the railroad, in the western portion, is considerable timber 
and a light, sandy soil. 

The general elevation of the surface is 1,000 feet, sufficient for heathful- 
ness and a protection against extreme heat and cold. Lands are one-half 
cheaper than in Tarrant county, by reason of distance from Fort Worth, 
not from inferiority; and unimproved lands may be had from $4.00 per 
acre up. The county has sixty-five schools in operation, with 6,000 scholars. 
Decatur is the county seat. 

Ft. Worth has eleven railroads, and one more is being constructed, forty- 
eight miles of macadamized streets, forty-two miles of sewer, thirty-two 
miles of electric car line, electric light plants, gas works, and Holly water- 
works. Her grain elevators have a capacity of 850.000 bushels, her flouring 
mills a capacity of 1,500 barrels a day. There are eight national banks, 
with a capital of $2,600,000. Ft. Worth has the finest Board of Trade 
building in the southwest, and has churches whose architectural beauty 
surprises every northern man who sees them. 

Since the completion of the Texas Panhandle Route, a wonderful devel- 
opment has taken place in Ft. Worth. Her population in 1880 was 7,000, 
now it is estimated at 35,000. The assessed value of property in the city for 
1888 was $8,500,000; for the year 1889, $16,300,000, a gain in one year of 
nearly 100 per cent. The increase in the volume of business has kept pace 
with the growth in values. The bank clearings for the first eight months 
of 1888 were $20,027,418; for the same period of 1889, $36,110,640, a gain of 
80.3 per cent. For October, 1889, the gain was 206.3 per cent over October, 
1888. No other city in the United States can show such development. 

The Ft. Worth people sustain a Board of Trade, which is reaching out 
everywhere for manufactories and population. Last year they erected the 
Texas Spring Palace, the most complete thing of its kind ever conceived. 
It is a world of wonder and an intensely interesting object lesson. At these 
May exhibitions, one can find, grouped under their proper heads, all the 
wonderful resources of the Panhandle country. 



100 THE TEXAS PANHANDLE. 

CONCLUSION. 

The country between Ft. Worth and the State line, on the line of the 
Texas Panhandle Route, is a remarkably productive one, as far as it has 
been settled and developed. In the first two counties, Wise and Mon- 
tague, while wheat, oats, and corn are valuable crops, cotton is the leading 
crop. In Wise county the amount of cotton to be shipped this year is about 
19,000 bales, which at $50 a bale would make $950,000. Montague county 
will ship about 25,000 bales, which at $50 a bale, would amount to one 
and a quarter million dollars. Cotton pays in Clay county, but fails to pay 
in Wichita county, where the shipment will be only 250 bales. 

In Wichita county, wheat becomes the most prominent crop. This last 
year (1889), the wheat crop is estimated at 337,000 bushels. In Wilbarger, 
the next county, the wheat crop for last year is estimated at 315,000. As the 
average now sown is about three times that of the previous year, we can put 
down each of these counties for three quarters of a million bushels for 1890, 
In Hardeman county, last year was practically the first when any decided 
steps had been taken to raise crops. The wheat yield was about 25,000 
bushels, and the amount now sown is four times as great as last year. Both 
oats and corn are good crops as far west as Montague county. Oats is a 
good crop as far as Childress county, and it is expected that wheat will 
prove a good crop as far as Texline. 

For the country north of the Canadian River, sorghum is recommended 
as a sure fodder crop, and milo-maize a sure grain crop. Milo-maize is an 
excellent food for horses, hogs, and poultry. In this upper region (where 
the rainfall diminishes as one recedes from the Gulf) Bermuda grass is 
recommended. It stands dry weather and tramping, and is calculated for 
pasture land when the buffalo, gramma and mesquite grasses are being 
tramped out. The great fodder plant for the upper plains region is un- 
doubtedly Johnson grass. It stands the drought and can be cut two or three 
times a year. It is a dwarf sorghum plant, and is well liked by horses and 
cattle, and, if cut at the right time, is eaten up clean. The prejudice exist- 
ing against it is without foundation, the argument being that once in the 
ground nothing will kill, and there is no way of getting rid of it. There 
are places in Texas where, when there is grown four tons of good Johnson 
grass annually, no one should ask to get rid of it. It can be killed, however, 
if it should become necessary. 

The enormous settlement of the Panhandle country last year, estimated 
at 60,000, is due to two causes, — one, the putting of the facts before the public; 
the other, its health, productiveness and fine market. 

This is the healthiest country, all kinds of diseases considered, in the 
world, free from malaria, yellow or other fevers of the coast; free from con- 
sumption and pneumonia. The soil is a limestone base, and the altitude is 
like that of Kentucky, which produced Lincoln, Henry Clay, Breckenridge, 
Tom Marshall, Prentice and a host of men of brains and ability. Like the 
blue-grass region of Kentucky, it has no sick horses, cattle, swine or poultry. 
Everybody and everything keeps well. 

In production, it brings the largest average and the best quality of wheat 
of any country, whether in Europe or America. It produces no 60-bushel 
crops of wheat, but it keeps up everywhere, and nearly every year, to an 
average of 23 bushels, or two bushels more than Colorado, the banner State 
of the Union for wheat. 

Wichita county is 400 miles from an ocean market, while Chicago is 
1,000. Wichita county is 600 miles from Denver (the best market for fruit 
and vegetables on the continent); Chicago is 1,100 miles from Denver. 

With Denver at one end and Ft. Worth at the other, the man who set- 
tles on the Texas Panhandle Route gets on one of the great railroads of 
the country. 

Think on these things. Then act promptly, if you expect to get your 
choice of the cheap lands. 



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Any Ticket Agent In the United States or Canada, can sell Tickets, Check Baggage, 
and arrange for Pullman Palace Sleeping Car Berths, via the Union Pacific system. 
Do not complete your arrangements for a Western Trip until you have applied to 
the undersigned. Additional Information, Maps, Time Tables, etc., will be cheerfully furnished. 



ALBANY. N. Y. 83 Maiden Lane. 

.1. I). Tenbroeck, Trav. Pass. Agent 
BOSTON. MASS. 290 Washington St. 

W. s. Condbll, New England Freight and 
Passenger Agent 

J. s. Smith, Traveling Passenger Agent. 

!•:. M. Nbwbegin, Trav. Fr. and Pass. Agt 

A. P. Mabsby, l 'ass. and Frt Solicitor. 
BUFFALO. N. Y. WW Exchange St 

8, A. Mi n bison, Trav. Pass. Agent. 

sktii Caldwell, Traveling Freight Agent. 
BUTTE. MONT. Corner Main and Broadway. 

II. \v. V.DAMS, General Agent. 
CHEYENNE. WYO. 

c. W. Bwekt, Freighl and Ticket Agent. 
CHICAGO. ILL. P.'l Smith (lark St. 

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T. W Viii'M,. Traveling Passenger Agent. 

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Al.KI.Kl> MORTENSEN & CO., E I 111 Ipeall Illlllli- 

gratinn Agents, 140 Kinzie St. 
CINCINNATI. OHIO 87 Wesl Itli St. 
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CLEVELAND, OHIO— Ken nurd House. 

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COLORADO SPRINGS. COLO.— 112 East Pikes 
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COLUMBUS. OHIO -N.W. Cor. Gay & Bigb Sts. 

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COUNCIL BLUFFS. IOWA -606 First Ave. 
A. J. Manderson, General Agent. 
R. W, Chamberlain, Pass. Agt.. Trans Depot. 
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A. T. Elwell, City Tkt. Agt., 507 Broadwav. 
DALLAS. TEXAS. 

II. M. DeHart, Genera] Agent. 
DENVER. COLO. 1708 Larimer St. 
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DETROIT. MICH. 68 Griswold Street. 

D. W. Johnston, Michigan Pass. Agent. 
HELENA. MONT. 88 North Main Street. 

A lv Vkazik. City Ticket Agent. 

INDIANAPOLIS, INDi Room :i Jackson Place. 

II. o. Webb, Trav. Pass. Agent. 
KANSAS CITY. MO. -9th and Broadway. 

.1. B. Fkawi.ky, Div. Pass. Agent. 

J. B. Reese, Trav. Pass. Agent 

I' S. Ham ki;, Trav. Pass. Agent. 

II. K. Proudpit, City Pass. Agent. 

T. A. Shaw, Tickel Agent, 1038 Union Ave. 

A. W. M ii.i.si-a cr.ii, Tickt't Agt. 1'n. Depot. 

c. \. Whittier, ciivTick't Agt. 528 Main St. 
LIVERPOOL. ENGLAND J.", Water St. 

s. Stamford Parbt, (.en. European Agent. 
LONDON. ENGLAND -Tnos. Cook & Sons, 

European Pass. Agents, Lndgate Circus. 
LOS ANGELES. CAL. -51 North Spring St 

Jons Clark, Agent Pass. Dep't 

A. .1. Hechtman, Agent Freight Dep't 
LOUISVILLE. KY. 346 Wesl Main St. 

N. HaiQHT, Trav. Pass. Agent. 
NEW ORLEANS. LA, 15 St. Charles St. 

« !. B. Smith, I leneral Agent. 

I). M. Rba, Traveling Agent. 



NEW YORK CITY— ^SV Broadway. 

R. Tenbboeck, Gen'l Eastern Agent. 

J. F. WlLET, Pass. Agent. 

F. R. Seaman, City Passenger Agent. 
0G0EN, UTAH.— I liion Depot. 

C. A. Henry, Ticket Agent. 

C. 10. INGALLS, Trav. Pass. Agent. 
OLYMPIA. WASH. 3d St. Wharf. 

J. C. Pkkcivai., Ticket Agent, 
OMAHA, NEB.— '.Ith and Farnani Sts. 
M. J. Gbeevy, Trav. Pass. Agent. 
Harry P. Deuel, city Pass, and Ticket 

Agent, 1808 Farnam St 
J. K. Chambers, Depot Ticket Agent, 10th 
and Marcy sts. 
PHILADELPHIA. PA.— 133 South 4th St. 

D. E. BURLEY, Trav. Pass. Agent, 
L. T. Fowler, Trav. Freight Agent. 

PITTSBURG. PA.— 400 Wood St. 

II. E. Passavant, Trav. Fr'ghtand Pass. Agt. 

Tnos. S. SPEAR, Trav. Fr'ght and Pass. Agt. 
PORTLAND. ORE.— Cor. 3d and Oak Sts. 

T. W. Lee, Gen'l Pass. Agent. Pacific Div. 

A. L. Maxwell, Gen'l Agent Traffic Dep't 

Harry Young, Trav. Pass. Agent, 

Geo. H. Hill, Trav. Pass. Agent. 

Geo. S. Taylor, City Ticket Agent, Cor. 1st 
and Oak Sts. 

P0RTT0WNSEND, WASH— Union Wharf. 

11. L. TebbALS, Jr.. Ticket Agent. 
PUEBLO. COLO.— 126 Santa Fe Ave. 

E. It. Harding, General Agent. 
ST. 10SEPH.M0.- 

F. L. Lynde, GenT Pass. Agent, St. J. & G. 
I. R, R. Div. 

W. P. Robinson, Jr.. Gen'l Freight Agent, 
St. J. & G. I. R. R. Div. 
ST. LOUIS. M0.— ~'13 North 4th St 
J. F. Aglar, Gen'l Agent F. and P. Dep't. 
E. R. Tuttle, Trav Pass. Agent. 
E. S. Williams, City Pass. Agent. 
C. C. Knight, Freight Contracting Agent 
SALT LAKE CITY. UTAH.-liOl Main St. 
J. A'. Parker, Assistant General Freight 
and Pass. Agent, Mountain Div. 
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.-l Montgomery St. 
W. II. Hurlburt, Assistant Gen'l Pass. 

Agent, Mo. Riv. Div. 
s. W. Eccles, Gen'l Agent Freight Dep't. 

C. L. Hanna, Trav. Pass. Agent, 
II. FROD8HAM, Pass. Agent, 

J. F. Fugazi, Italian Emigrant Agent, 5 
Montgomery Ave. 
SEATTLE. WASH.— 720 Second St. 

A. c. Martin, < !ity Ticket Agent. 

O. F. Briggs, Ticket Agent. Dock. 
SIOUX CITY. IOWA.— 513 Fourth St. 

D. M. Collins, Gen'l Agent. 

Geo. E. Abbott. City Ticket Agent, 
SPOKANE FALLS. WASH.— 815 Howard St. 

Perky Griffin, Pass, and Ticket Agent. 
TAC0MA. WASH.-Tlli Pacini' Ave. 

E. B. Ellis, Gen'l Agent F. and P. Dep'ts. 
TRINIDAD, COLO. 121 ( fommercial St. 

G. M. Jacobs, General Agent. 
VICT0RA. B. C— 100 Government St 

<;. A. Cooper, Ticket Agent. 
WHATCOM. WASH. 
J. W. Alton, Gen'l Agent F. and P. Dep'ts. 



•I. A. S. REED, General Traveling Agent, l'.ll South Clark Street, CHICAGO. 



ALBERT WOOIM'Oi'K, General Land Commissioner, OMAHA, NEB. 

E. L. LOMAX, Weueral PasseneiT .U'fiit, JNO. W. SCOTT, Ass't Gen'l Passenger Agt 

OMAHA, NEB. 




ION PACIFI 

THE OVERLAND ROUTE," 






IS THE 



MOST DIRECT LINE 

FROM 

THE MISSOURI RIVER 

TO 

All Principal Points West, 

And on Account of the Varied Character of the Country it Traverses 

Offers to those who contemplate going West a more greatly diversified 

territory to select from than does any other 

TRANSCONTINENTAL LINE. 

Passing as it does through Ncbnisfcj, Kansas, Texas, New 
Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana 

Ovoiron, and Washington, every business interest is to be found 
along its line. 

mP THP FARMFR thousands of acres of rich agricultural land are 
L2!Li"^---'*^^ ' >^t open for settlement. .• 

FOQft&STOGK-RfllSER, J^^^^ gr - zing ^ 

CriR THF IWIWFR the great mountains of the West await but the opening 
FO R .lib flUIHtft, tQ b | come ^ source of large fortunes, and 

FOR THE BUSINESS MftN, T ^JT^ToL^t — el % 

P^u^HoTlnv^t^^ ^ "t 1, dttatef indUStrieS .. WhiCh . ar4 

unsurpassed by older sections of the United States. . 

For pamphlets descriptive^^ above named States or Territories, or 
any ^formation relative t" the Union Pacific, -U -, ^address, any 
of tins Company whose mune is given in the hst on the inside covei, or 



C. S. MELLEN, 



General Trailiu Mana ;er 

OMAHA, 



E L. LOMAX, 

General Passenger AgeoC 



